Working for The Dead
by CSIFanRider
Summary: When you're a CSI, you work for the dead. Surprisingly, there's a huge line of people wanting to work for the dead. Bridget Graves can finally call herself a CSI when she lands herself a job with the team in Nevada. She soon finds herself blending in with everyone at the lab. Even when your line of work involves corpses, you can find yourself connecting with other people.
1. Chapter 1

I lab I seemed to currently be frozen in the middle of the hallway was like any lab you would expect to be on TV or a movie. Usually when people are frozen or stuck in a single place, it's due to either amazement, shock, or most common fear. For me, it was a combination of the three. I was finally able to get my first job as a Crime Scene Investigator after college, sure it's been 4 years since I graduated BUT I'm finally here so thank you! After I graduated with a Bachelor's in Forensic sciences, I looked for a job in the crime lab. Apparently, Denver is Crime free because they don't need any CSI's! After I finally realized that I wouldn't be getting a job in Colorado, I started looking in other states. I finally found one in Las Vegas, Nevada or the graveyard shift. Supposedly their one of the best teams in the state, and Miraculously yours truly got the job, which explains why I seem to be frozen in the middle of the hall. _You can do this Bridget, they didn't hire you for nothing_!

More accurately, a guy by the name Grissom hired me. Just as I seemed to be able to shake my feet from the frozen trance they were in, I hear a man call at me. When I look up, I notice it's an older looking with graying hair. He's wearing a simple black shirt with a run of the mill suit jacket over it with a pair of jeans. This man starts walking towards me with a hint of a smile on his face, but I wasn't quite sure. The man finally got in front of me, I was able to notice the beard that he had going on and that his eyes seemed kind but indifferent at the same time.

"You must be the new CSI." The man asked, outstretching his hand towards me. I quickly accepted it before he pulled back.

"Yes, I am." For some reason, I couldn't seem to formulate more than a simple sentence in response.

"My name is Gil Grissom, and welcome to the Graveyard shift. If you will, please follow me to my office. We can talk there." Grissom started walking down the hall and I was within a few steps behind him.

"Thanks, sir… It's Bridget.." I managed to get out as we turned into an office, and the minute I looked at the walls and shelves I knew things would get interesting. There were different sorts of bugs every place you looked. They were in cases, jars, containers anything you could fit some sort of bug, it was there. I slightly turned my head to the left and directly in my eyesight was a tarantula of some sort in a container, moving. I bit down on my lip to keep from Screaming because I am absolutely terrified of spiders.

"It's my understanding Ms… Graves is it?" He raised a quick eyebrow like most people do when they hear my last name. "That this is your first job as a Crime Scene Tech." I lowered myself into one of the chairs that were in front of his desk and he took the one behind his desk.

"Yes, it is.."

"Let me give you a piece of advice I give to all the CSI's and I remind them of it constantly. In my life as a CSI, I've come to learn one thing. People lie, the evidence doesn't. Always follow where the evidence takes you, even if you don't like the path it's taking you on."

"Of course sir, I would never let it do anything different."

"Please call me Grissom. I have some paperwork to get on top of, so feel free to….." Grissom was interrupted by a knock on the door frame.

"Grissom, Just wanted to let you know I'm heading out to the 10-83 in the Casino bathroom." A deeper, younger male had told him. Grissom looked from me to over my head to look at the guy. I turn around to face the guy, my blonde/brown hair swishing and hitting me in the face slightly. The guy standing in the doorway is African American and roughly about six feet tall. His hair comes out into a shorter afro and his blue-green eyes stand out against his skin tone. He stuck his hands in the pocket of his jeans.

"Warrick, I'd like you to meet Bridget. She's the new CSI that will be joining us." I continue to look at Warrick as his eyes slightly assess me from head to toe.

"Are you sure we can trust her? I mean she looks kind of shady."

"Says the guy that's black and plus six feet," I muttered under my breath. I apparently didn't mutter it quietly because Warrick heard it but by the look on his face, He didn't look too upset. In fact, he was smiling with his eyes shining slightly.

"I like this girl Grissom, let's keep her around for a while she's can take what's given to her a dish it right back out."

"Good, take her with you on the 10-83."

"Nick's already there on the scene, though…."

"The rookie needs practice, plus do you want to make that end of the year bonus cut?" I looked back at Grissom quickly to see him look at this Warrick, almost as if he's challenging him in a way. I then directed my attention back to him as he had an amused look on his face.

"Alright then, come on Rook, dead bodies wait for no one. I have an extra kit in the Tahoe for ya…." I got up from the chair and began walking towards Warrick, but Grissom got my attention.

"Yeah?"

"G.K Chesterton once said "Science in the modern world has many uses; its chief use, however, is to provide long words to cover the errors of the rich" Go and cover those errors, and figure it out." With a final nod, Warrick and I walked out of Grissom's office. As we're walking down the hall side by side I open my mouth.

"What was with all the bugs in the office?"

"He has a bit of what we would call an obsession with them. Personally, I find it strange but to each their own I guess." There are no other words spoken for awhile as we head towards a the Tahoe he was referring to earlier. When we reach the vehicle, he is easily able to get into the vehicle but due to the fact the things REALLY high off the ground and I'm only about 5'4 it made for an interesting show. After I had to practically launch myself into the passenger seat, I closed the door and looked over at Warrick. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was trying not to laugh.

"What? Never seen a short person get into the car before?"

"No, I have it's just," He chuckles slightly as he turns the ignition. "Hysterical when a woman such as yourself is determined to get into a car a few sizes larger than her."

"Is this how you treat all the new kids on the block?"

"Never heard of hazing Graves?" I narrowed my eyes as I hate it when people call me by my last name. For some reason, it just irritates the shit out of me.

"Ohhh Fraternity boy then huh?" I asked Warrick as he pulled the Tahoe out of the parking lot and started going down the road.

"Nahhh that was Nick, he was a Greek delta beta whatever ya call them. You'll meet him shortly he's a very… interesting character…" All I did was raise an eyebrow at him. Most men who I've met that were Frat boys in college well…. Grew up to be Frat Men. After that, I kept my mouth shut as he drove to the casino.

When we pulled up, the outside of the casino looked like any other on the Strip; except for the fact that squad cars surrounded the place and Crime Scene tape blocked off the front door. As both Warrick and I got out of the Tahoe, an officer called towards him.

"Hey Brown, Stokes said he'd be back in a minute, had to take care of something." Warrick nodded to the officer that was stationed on the right side of the front entrance. Before we headed towards the scene, Warrick reached into the back seat and grabbed a silver metal case and handed it to me.

"Your very own Kit; you'll grow to love it." He flashed a small smile as he shut the back door to the car and began striding towards the front door with me behind him. Both of us ducked under the Crime Scene Tape as we entered the building. As we began walking towards what I assumed to be the bathroom, there was a hint of copper in the air. Warrick spoke up before I could say anything.

"Smell that?" I nodded. "That's blood, and by the scent of it a lot of it." We reached the men's bathroom where different cops and technicians kept coming in and out. Before we actually entered, Warrick turned towards me.

"Your new here, and since this is what seems to be a particularly brutal scene, fingerprint both sides of the door handle for anything. The killer may have left a print. If your done with that, then move on to the inside of the bathroom." Warrick then entered the bathroom and left me at the entrance. I was mad for a second when he told me to stay away from the body then I realized he has a reason for doing so.

Sighing, I kneeled down on the ground and opened my kit, quickly finding my fingerprint powder and brush. I started on the knob on the inside of the bathroom and as I was working, I stole a peek down towards the body which wasn't much. All I was able to see was a body on the floor, laying in a pool of it's own deep crimson blood. By the right hand was some sort of gun, but other then that I couldn't see much because everyone was swarming around the body.

When I found nothing on the inside of the door, I picked up my kit and moved to the outside. Right when I had the brush hovering over the door knob, a rather distinct voice made it's way through the crowd.

"Any of Y'all seen Warrick?" The voice of someone from the south had cut through the crowd. I heard the responses of several officers go 'Yeah he went into the scene a few seconds ago, with fresh meat too.'

"He brought a rookie along? Should make for an interesting night." I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or what. Shaking my head, I turned my attention back on the doorknob where the brush had finally touched the knob. As I slowly let the brush glide over the knob and leave the fingerprint dust on it, I heard footsteps come up from behind me.

"You must be the fresh meat everyone's talking about." The same southern drawl from earlier had stated to what I assumed to be me.

"No, I just like checking the bathroom doors on the places I spend thousands of dollars on. Makes me feel secure." Southie had snickered slightly.

"Sense of humor, you'll love Graveshift just fineee. Name's Nick Stokes, and you are?" Oh my god, this is Nick, the Frat Man? Jesus, I think my karma just came back and bit me in the ass.

"Bridget Graves…" I offered as I paused with the brush. On the left side of the knob, was a partial thumb print on a otherwise clean knob. Bingo! I put the brush and powder down as I had grabbed the fingerprint tape. As I was doing this, I was well aware that Nick was standing a few feet behind me, watching me. After I collected the print, Nick had spoken up.

"A print, could be our killer's. Nice job Graves." Nick then stepped past me and proceeded to walk into the bathroom. When I glanced up, I noticed how tall he is. Is everyone here taller then me? I placed the print in the case, then put everything back in it and closed it on up. Since Warrick told me to go into the bathroom after I finished with the door, that's what I did. Once I got closer to the body, the smell of the blood hit me full on. The smell of blood was combined with the general smell of a dead body was really overwhelming. I powered through it as I began a walk of the perimeter, seeing if anything was out of place.

My eyes were slowly scanning the bright green walls of the bathroom and the side of the room where there was five sinks lined up in a row with granite countertops. I looked above the giant mirror that lined the wall and saw a window that was open. The window was about medium size, and just big enough for someone to fit through….

"Nick?" I called out, not taking my eyes off the window.

"Yeah?"

"Was this window open when you got here?" If I was looking at him, he would most likely have a puzzled look on his face.

"It was." Ok, now it's really going to bug me. I set my kit on the bathroom countertop. Bracing myself against the sink, I launched myself up on the counter. Once I was up on it, I got to the point where I was standing on the sink and just with my luck, I was now eye level with the window.

"Well look at the Rookie go…." I heard Warrick comment.

"What in god's name is she doing?" Nick responded back.

"I think she is in what we would call, the zone." I slowly tuned them out as I looked at the window and its frame for anything I could possibly find. On the windows closing mechanism in the middle of the frame, was a piece of fabric stuck in it. Barely able to contain my excitement, I bent down on the counter to my kit and grabbed my forceps and an evidence bag. I quickly but carefully grabbed the fabric and put it on the bag then hopped down off the sink counter. I glanced over at Warrick and he saw the look on my face.

"What did you find there?" I held up the evidence bag with the piece of fabric in it.

"Look's like someone got out through the window."

'Well I'll be damned, first night on the job and you'll already breaking the case open. Hey Nicky, check what the new girl found." Nicky? Seriously? I bent my head down slightly so Nick couldn't see me laughing at the nickname. I picked my head back up a moment later to see Nick making his way over here, and this is the first time I'm actually seeing his face and may I say, I DEFINETLY don't mind working with him. His brown hair was closely cut to his head where it was just the right amount of length to it. Nick's jaw was really pronounced, but that wasn't even the best part. His eyes, are just so freaking brown it's unbelievable. It didn't take me that long to get lost in his eyes, and now I just realized I'm properly creeping the crap out of him. I dragged my eyes away from his face, and then noticed the rest of him. With him as my co-worker, things should get very interesting.

I looked over at Warrick who was looking at Nick. Just as he was getting over to us, I help the evidence bag.

"What do we have here? Material from clothing, interesting. More and more keeps pointing to this being Homicide and not Suicide, but as Grissom always says Follow the evidence."

"Alright, what we have so far is the blood from the Vic, fingerprint's off the gun, a fingerprint from the bathroom door, and clothing material from the window. Things are getting a little crowded in here, so I don't see why three of us need to be at scene. Nick, did you already get witness statements from the person who discovered the body?"

"I got their statement. I also talked to the manager of the casino to see if he knew our Vic and he gave us a possible ID; 34 year old Paul Randall worked as a bartender here. Won't know till Doc Robbins does an autopsy though and we can get a positive DNA match. I'll take Graves here back to the lab so we can get a jump on processing the evidence." Nick took a sideways glance at me before looking at Warrick.

"All right, I'll finish up here you guys head on back. Nice work Bridget.." Warrick gave my shoulder a pat before walking off towards the body. Nick and I look at each other for minute before he speaks up.

"Let's get a move on then…" Together, we walked out of the crime scene and into the parking lot where we got into a similar looking car then the one I arrived in, except this one I swear is higher off the ground then the first one. WHAT IS WITH MEN AND THEM LIKING CARS THAT ARE HIGH OFF THE GROUND? He was already in the car when I was still struggling to get in.

"Need some help there?" I could just tell by the tone in his voice he was trying not to laugh. I don't respond til I get myself in the car and I shut the door. "I'm good, I'm good."

"Sure you are. You know, you might want to invest in some stilts. It would make getting into the car a lot easier." I looked over at him in the driver's seat and he had a slight smile on his face as he started the car.

"I see, poking fun at the new girl." I looked out the passenger window as the car began to slowly pull away from the building.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better. I had it ten times worse when I joined." After that, I didn't really pay attention to anything he said as I just got lost in what was outside the window.

About 20 minutes later, I found myself in one of the labs. Running both the print from the door knob and the gun through AFIS to see if anything comes up. I'm sitting in front of one of the computers when a middle aged woman with short blonde hair in a dress shirt and pants rushing into the lab.

"Hey have you seen Greg?" The woman asked me. I must of have a look of confusion on my face cause she started to further explain herself. "He's about this high, lab coat on, most likely wearing some sort of weird shirt underneath the lab coat."

"Sorry, can't say I've seen him. To be honest I have no idea who your talking about."

"It's alright, you must be the new CSI then. I'm Catherine Willows and well, I'm looking for a lab rat named Greg. We'll chat later, right now I need something from him." She hastily waved goodbye as she rushed back out of the lab in search of this Greg. Just as she was leaving, the computer beeped, letting me know that the search had been completed. I got over to the computer and printed out the results. It was letting me know that the fingerprint on the knob belonged to 45 year old Izac Rinker. I set the results off to the side and had just put the other one through AFIS when Nick strolls into the lab.

"Got anything for me?"

"I actually do, here." I handed him the papers I just printed out.

"Huh, so the print on the knob belongs to the Casino Manager Izac. Funny cause I talked to the guy and he said he never went into the bathroom, let alone went near it. What about the print on the gun?"

"Sorry, haven't found anything yet." There was an awkward moment of silence between us before he cleared his throat. "Listen, about earlier in the car did I offend you or something? Because that wasn't my intention…."

"it's fine, believe me I get jokes and poked at all the time due to my height, you didn't offend me." I could have sworn he did a sigh of relief but I wasn't 100 percent sure.

"Good, besides we may poke fun at each other here but were all kind of a family. I'm going to give this info to Warrick and see if we can bring him in, if not we'll just go and talk to him. Call me when you get the results, and I just realized you don't have my number most likely." He paused for a minute as he grabbed a near by pad and pen and wrote a few things down.

"Here's both my number and Warrick's, as I said earlier give me a call when you get the results." He offered a smile before walking out of the lab. Well, that was weird. I took a few minutes to put their numbers in my phone while I waited for the results. After about another 30 minutes, we finally got a match but they matched our victim which was who The manager said it would be, Paul Randall. I picked up my phone and Called both of them but got their voicemails so I left a message on Warrick's phone telling him what the results were. As I hung up the phone, Grissom was walking by the lab and had stopped in.

"Bridget, heard you were progressing well with the Casino bathroom case? Stokes told me about the print matching the manager, nice work."

"Thanks."

"Since the technicians are working on the blood and the fabric you found on the scene and we're still waiting for the autopsy to be done on the Vic, go home and get some rest."

"Are you sure? I can stay here and…." Grissom held up a hand to stop me. "Don't worry about, Sara who you'll meet later can cover you if we need anything. Just keep your phone charged." He left the lab without another word. Well, I get to go home I guess. I checked my watch and noticed that it was close to one in the morning. Guess it's a good thing I can head on home them huh?


	2. Chapter 2

As my eyes started to peel themselves open, it wasn't due to the fact that it was a decent hour and I was willingly waking up. It was due to the ringing on my bedside. I blindly started swinging my arm in the general direction of where it was coming from and grabbed a hold of it.

"Hello?" I answered in what I thought was a semi-coherent sentence.

"Rise and shine Graves, duty calls."

"And this is?" I asked because I honestly have no idea who I am speaking with.

"It's Warrick, bout to head off to talk to the manager at the casino. Want to come with?" He sounded eager for some reason.

"Its…" I looked over at the nightstand to read the clock. "4:30 in the morning."

"I've got a cup of coffee with your name on it." Coffee was the magic word for me.

"I'm up, come drive by my place in 30." I gave him the address and we hung up. In record timing, I took a shower, got dressed, and was waiting outside with my crime scene kit when Warrick pulled up in the Tahoe.

"You look surprisingly well for a girl who just woke up 30 minutes ago."

"What can I say, talking to casino manager's really get my blood pumping." I heard a snicker from the driver's seat as I got settled into the car. Warrick had handed me the cup of coffee which I generously accepted. As soon as the buckle was clicked in, he drove out of the lot and off towards the casino. I raised the coffee cup to my lips and did an appreciative sigh.

"Who made this?" I asked as I set the cup down in the holder.

"One of our lab techs Greg, We thank him every day because if he didn't make it we'd be drinking the sludge the rest of the lab considers coffee." I had to laugh at that statement. "Just a little hint, stay away from the day shift. They're a bit….vindictive.."

"Why would they be vindictive?"

"Ehh they're still kind of mad that we beat them in the softball game." Warrick was about to start speaking again when his cell went off. Without taking his eyes off the road, he grabbed his phone from the console, answered the call and put it on speaker.

"You've got Warrick…." He took a side glance at me. "And the Rookie."

"Hey, guys." A female voice responds. This may be the voice of Catherine that I briefly met yesterday, I'm not quite sure.

"What's going on Cath?"

"Autopsy's done on your vic from the casino and Grissom wants the new girl there, witness her first dead, cut open body." I groaned as I went to clutch the cup of coffee.

"Ughhhh Can I bring the coffee?" I heard a laugh from her end of the line.

"Take it you've had a taste of Greg's coffee then?"

"How do you live without it?"

"Trust me, It's quite difficult. You'll be meeting Sara by Grissom's office, she'll be joining you. All right, I gotta go. Make sure Warrick brings you back in one piece."

"Willows, you act like I can't drive for shit. Have you SEEN Nick drive?" She only responded with a chuckle before hanging up. Warrick shook his head as he did a u-turn where the car stood and started going the opposite direction.

"Was that even legal?" I asked in awe as he just did a u-turn on a major road.

"Who knows?" The rest of the ride was mostly silent, the only noise being the sound of the radio playing throughout the car. Even with the slightly heavy traffic, he dropped me off at the lab less than 30 minutes.

When he pulled away from the lab, I made my way through the entrance and it still caught me off guard. It was hard to believe I was actually standing here, living out my dream. Sure I was about to go and look at a dead body but that would be look over for a minute.

I made my way back to Grissom's office. I was expecting to see someone standing outside but no one was there. Hey, CSI's do get called out on a moment's notice, they do solve crimes. Being patient, I waited outside his office for a good 15 minutes before I started to find my way to the autopsy room myself. I was fairly close when I bumped into Nick on the way down.

"Looking for something?" He asked as he had paused in the middle of the hall.

"Yeah, the autopsy room."

"Aren't you suppose to be with Sara? Ohh wait Sara and Catherine got called away on an arson case. Yeah someone was suppose to get in contact with you about that….."

"And that person would be?"

"Me….." I gave him a look. "My baddd… Look I'll walk you down there to make up for it, and if I'm feeling generous enough, I'll even sit through it with you." Nick winked at me before he started walking down the hall in the direction I was heading in. Did he just? I don't want to know, I just don't. I quickly followed behind him.

"Don't I feel lucky." I muttered sarcastically. I don't know what it was but for some reason his previous comment started to irk the shit out of me, about him being generous enough to sit through it with me. I hate guys that have that ego or fake an ego like that for that matter.

Walking down the hall, I saw giant metal doors labeled "Autopsy Room". Without waiting for Nick or his permission, I rushed ahead towards the room changing my speed from a walk to almost a brisk jog. I practically burst into the room. The Autopsy room looked typical from what you see on TV; metal table for the body to be on in the center of the room, body freezers on one side of the room and a sink right next to it.

Standing at a computer that's sitting on a metal table across the room was an older man with white hair. When he turned towards me, I saw a crutch that was attached to his arm.

"You the new girl?" The older man asked me. I just nodded my head in response. "Grissom told me you'd be stopping by Bridget. Name's Doc Robbins. You're here for the gunshot victim at the Casino right?"

"Yeah and so is Nick.." Just as I mention the name, he comes through the door. When he stops to stand at my side, he gives me a sideways glance but doesn't say anything. We all make our way towards the body that's on the table in the middle of the room in which our victim is currently on.

"Well, your Primary assumption on this being Paul Randall was correct. Blood test backs it up. Also, Vic's death was not Suicide-related. Yes, he was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest through the heart but the trajectory is off."

I had no idea what he meant so I asked "Meaning?"

"I apologized I forgot you're new in an Autopsy room. The angle was off, If the victim would have shot himself in the chest it would have been a straight through and through shot, but that's not the case. The bullet when in on a downward angle, suggesting that someone shot him as they were standing over them."

"Well, couldn't he if Randall was tall enough or if he was already on the ground shot himself?" I asked another question.

"Not normally because even if he was in that position, he would have to angle his hand in such a way that would be impossible for a human to do. Paul would have to his arm up, his own hand turned around and angled downwards on his own body." Nick had answered for me instead of the Doc. "Sorry." He apologized.

"Yes as Nick said, It would be almost impossible for him to do so. In other words, you're looking at a homicide here." That was music to my ears for some reason. A small smile broke out on my face.

"Great, thanks. I'm going to tell Warrick the good news." I turned on my heels and exited the room. I stood in the hall outside for a minute, Texting him what Robbins had told me about the victim. Afterwards, I slipped my cell into my back pocket. I began walking back down the hall when Nick came out of the autopsy room.

"Hey Bridget wait up." I had no choice but to stop in my tracks and wait for him to catch up to me. "So I figured since Greg's got the rest of the evidence, and Warrick's out questioning the manager in more detail I'd go talk to the Paul's brothers Niko, want to come?" Why not? Sure Nick has pisses me off a good amount, but he's decent looking so I think I can make a small exception.

"Sure, why not."

"Let's get going then.." He lightly shoves my shoulder ahead of him. I turned around to face him.

"Hey, you don't wanna mess with me man I'm from Denver, I will mess you up."

"Ooh I'm so scared, I'm from Texas. Do You want to know what can happen to you in Texas? You can get run over by cattle." I had to snicker at the thought of being run over by cattle.

"Yeah cause that makes me terrified." Nick and I made our way out of the autopsy area and found our way to the parking lot and in front of the Tahoe. I was about to open the door when Nick had said. "Want me to call the fireman so he can get his ladder and help you out over there?"

"Look at you, thinking you're all big and bad because your over six feet tall," I tell him as I try and not struggle as I climb into the car.

"I'm at least of normal height, you on the other hand could rival the height of a lawn gnome."

"I'm 5'4."

"Exactly my point." I had to restrain myself from snickering as Nick had started the car and began to go out of the parking lot. He didn't just slowly pull out of the parking lot, he peeled out of the lot. Warrick wasn't kidding earlier when he said Nick's driving was horrendous.

"Jesus, drive careful much?" I looked over in the driver's seat to see Nick smirking.

"As a somewhat officer of the law, I have the right to go slightly extreme with my driving."

"You're a crime scene investigator."

"Same thing." The rest of time was filled with silence and the soft country music that was playing through the radio. Most of the time I was spacing out the window with my elbow propped up against the arm rest. I was completely spaced out until Nick had tapped on my shoulder, only then did I realize that the car had pulled to a complete stop.

"Hey Newbie, we're here." After that, he just got out of the car without another word. I visibly shook my head then got out of the car myself. When I looked at the house, all I saw was a simple bungalow styled house with a just as simple garage attached to the house. As I was taking in the house, Nick appeared at my side.

"Just follow me, you never know how these guys are going to act," Nick whispered as if someone else might hear. All I did was nod as I followed him up to the house. For some reason, this was extremely nerve-wracking.

We got up to the front door, and apparently I looked nervous because he had said "Relax.." Then Nick had brought his knuckles up to the door. He had knocked on the door, emitting a loud sound throughout the air. A few seconds later, the front door opened to reveal a man well into his 40's with thinning hair.

"Can I help you?" The man's raspy voice had asked us.

"Yes, I'm Nick Stokes with the Las Vegas Crime Lab, this is my partner Ms. Graves. We're here to ask you some questions about your brother Paul if that's ok Niko?" The man grunted at Nick. He took that as a sign to continue.

"When was the last time you saw your brother Paul?"

"A few days ago, I stopped by to give him some money I owed him." Nick raised an eyebrow but before he could ask anything about that Niko spoke up. "Now before you lab rats get your panties in a twist, I only owed him 20 dollars for money he lent me so I could buy some beer. I ain't killed him over 20 bucks."

"We weren't saying you killed him, we were just simply asking questions." Nick's calm voice spoke to Niko. Niko, on the other hand, shook his head while he began to lean against the doorframe.

"You guys asking questions is the same thing as accusing me. I've seen you people on TV," I bit down on my lip to keep myself from telling him that not everything you see on TV is true.

"Did you know of anybody that might have had a grudge against your brother?" I ask the man, bringing myself to look up into his eyes. I shouldn't have cause the minute I did, his eyes got a shade darker due to what I assumed to be anger.

"Asking about people who had grudges against my brother will not put the bastard who killed him behind bars. So Miss, why don't you get off your lazy asses and do something about it!" Nick stepped between me and guy, blocking his view of me. I know this isn't the right moment to say this, but he's got some fine back muscles.

"You better watch what you're saying to her. Both her and I want to help you as much as we can to find out who did this to your brother."

"Well, you guys can just go fuck yourselves." With that, Niko had stepped away from the door and slammed into in our faces. Without another word, both of us turned back towards the car. After we both had gotten buckled in did I say "Well… that could have gone better." Nick let out a dry laugh as he started the car.

"You can say that again," He muttered under his breath as he began to pull the car away from Niko's house. We sat for a few minutes in silence as he drove before he said "I'm sorry, for back there. I didn't think he'd be so… agitated."

"If I had a dollar for every time someone told me to go fuck myself…. Well, let's just say I wouldn't be working right now." My cell phone start vibrating in my pocket. Fishing out, I read Warrick's name on the call ID and I answered.

"Yeah?" I answered nonchalantly. Let's face it, I've never been a very formal person over the phone.

"Results came back in on the blue fiber you found in the window. Greg identified it has denim."

"So our guy climbed through that window? Damn, I wanna know how the hell he fit through there." There was a small chuckle on Warrick's end.

"Yeah, don't we all. Listen, I like to make a second run through of the crime scene after all the chaos has passed. Make sure I didn't miss anything, you in?"

"I'd love too, I'll have Nick drop me off at the Casino." I took a side ways glance at him as he was starting the car. Other than a slightly raised eyebrow, there was no emotion on his face.

"Ohh you're with Nick huh? And you haven't been killed by his driving?" I'm starting to think Warrick and Nick were really good friends, by the way he always ragged on Nick. "Are you riding in the Tahoe or his tractor?" I looked over at Nick and he had a big smile on his face.

"Heard that!" Nick called towards the phone. " Besides I don't own a Tractor, but I do have a rusted out Chevy pickup truck." He wasn't afraid to let the Texan drawl slide in.

"Someone from Texas owning a pickup up truck, never would have guessed that. Anyways, I'll meet you there Rook." His end went silent and it took all my willpower not to laugh out loud. I then instructed Nick to drop me off at the casino by Warrick.

"As long as you don't mind country music, We'll be just fine." I didn't say anything for the longest time because I honestly hate country. I would listen to any other type of music before Country. Nick spoke up at my silence as he pulled out of the driveway.

"You don't like country music? In that case…." He turned on the radio, and all I heard was what I thought was Garth Brook's Friends in low Places play through the speakers. All I did was glare at the speaker.

"I officially hate you, Nick."

"Aww, too bad." A sarcastic tone crept through his voice. It was my second day on the job and I already had people messing with me


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't long after I got off the phone with Warrick that Nick had dropped me off at the Casino. As Nick pulled away from the Casino, I tried remembering the way to the crime scene. As I walked towards the entrance of the casino, the route to the bathroom came into my mind. With my kit in my left hand, I opened the door to the casino with my other hand and rushed through the door before it could close on me. As I was greeted by the extremely classy lobby, I sniffed the air. The smell of copper ran through the air still. Thanks to Warrick, I now know that blood smells like copper in large quantities. When I finally found myself outside the bathroom, I saw Warrick walking in circles, his gaze fixed on the floors. Out of habit, I set my case down and opened it. As I started slipping into a pair of latex gloves, I speak up.

"Find anything yet?" I closed up my case, then picked it back up and stepped inside the bathroom.

"Nothing that I didn't record, and pick up the first time around. I've circled this bathroom a hundred times, and besides the fabric on the window, the prints on both the knob and the gun, I haven't found anything else."

"Have the window sill and bathroom counter been printed? We know the killer escaped out the window so maybe he put his hands on the counter to lift himself up?" I questioned him, then immediately regretted my question. Of course they've printed those things, they've been CSI's longer than I have!

"Yes, I did, after you and Nick left. I found nothing, not even a smudge or a partial. This bathroom's surprisingly clean for belonging inside a casino, and let's not mention it's a men's bathroom too." A slight smile appeared on my face.

"He could have cleaned up after himself? Or had someone else come in and do it." I mentioned that to him. For once, he stopped walking in circles and glanced in my direction.

"I checked, all the can's were recently cleaned out." With him still looking at me, a smirk made its way up onto his face. "You ever been dumpster diving?" His eyes held a devilish gleam to them.

Both Warrick and I are now in the back alley, with full-body protective suits donned. I knew that I'd have to go into the dumpster because there's a chance that evidence is in there, but I really didn't want to. Hell, I'm sure Warrick doesn't want to either. As I stood there looking at the giant green dumpster, Warrick sets his kit down on the ground. With one athletic, move he made it into the dumpster. By the look on his face, he looked that he didn't mind it. I'd go as far as saying he was enjoying this.

"The smell get's better as you go on. Eventually, you get use to it." Sighing, I set my case down next to his. I made my way up to the garbage can, then began to give it a once over. I knew I was going to have a harder time getting into it then Warrick did. I debated in my head how I was going to do this, then I figured out a way. I swung one leg up and over the dumpster. My muscles cried out in pain as I wasn't this flexible. I then put my hands on the edge of the dumpster, then lifted myself up and over to land the rest of my body into the dumpster. That was a workout all in itself. With that, the both of us set to work. Both of us each took half, then began rummaging through the contents. There was a surprising amount of half eaten food and used condoms, then again this is Vegas.

It was about 45 minutes later when I heard Warrick exclaim, "Hey, I got something!" I looked over my shoulder and saw him lift up a half-empty can of countertop cleaner. "I'd say this could come from anywhere, but you never know. Besides, from everything else I've seen in here this is out of the ordinary." I turned back to my half and continued sifting the garbage. Under an empty take out bin, a bunched up white rag caught my attention. Lifting the white rag up, I saw spots of a watered down red substance. Shifting my body towards Warrick, I showed him the rag.

"Think this could be blood?"

"Definitely looks like it. Greg may be able to save a sample of that, test it against the victims. He can also test that against a sample of a towel from the casino, might be able to narrow down where the killer got the towel from."

"Does this mean we can stop dumpster diving?"

"Too adventurous for you?" Warrick pokes fun at me.

"No, I just want to be able to get the smell of this shit out of my skin before I turn 50." I slightly laughed at my own joke which I'm pretty sure made him wonder how I was mentally. Aren't I making quite a first impression?

It wasn't until later when we finally made it back to the lab. Warrick told me the smell wasn't that bad, but at this point I seriously doubted him. I offered to take the rag towards Greg, but he insisted to it. That left me with fingerprinting the can, then if I get anything off it to run it through the databases. Before I did the fingerprinting, I was determined to find the break room so I could at least wash my face and hands of the smell. It only took me a few minutes to locate the break room, which was standard besides the giant wooden table that belongs in a meeting room residing in the middle. I went to walk over to the sink when I saw someone else standing in front of it.

The guy seemed to be 6 feet just like everyone else here! His hair wasn't exactly shaggy, but it wasn't that short either. His lab coat went to half way down his legs. I almost laughed at his tennis shoes that seemed out of place with the rest of what he was wearing. When he turned towards me, a kind smile greeted me. His brown eyes seemed to be full of energy.

"Didn't realize I was being watched. Grissom told me about the new fish in the tank." I raised my eyebrow at his analogy.

"Yeah, it's Bridget. You must be Greg?" I only said this because this guy kind of fits Catherine's description of the guy Greg.

"Yep, that would be me. Seems like word has gotten around about me. Did they happen to tell you I'm the king of the lab? Well, the DNA lab anyways.." This time, a laugh did escape.

"I'll have to remember that." Greg inhaled deeply, then tried not to flinch as he breathed it all out. Without saying a word, he reached in one of the cabinets under the sink. He came out with a spray bottle of sorts, then tossed it at me. I briefly glanced at the bottle and saw it said Febreze.

"Warrick told me the smell wasn't that bad!" I tried to defend myself.

"He says that to everyone he goes dumpster diving with. Besides, it could be much worse." It took so much willpower to not glare at him, but I failed. I lifted the Febreze can and started spraying it all around me. As I was doing this, Nick happened to be walking in with a file folder of some case.

"Hey Greggo, and Bridget. Warrick told me about your dumpster diving expedition." I didn't respond as I was still spraying myself with Febreze. Once I finished, he spoke up again.

"Any particular reason you're spraying yourself with ... Febreze?" Nick tried holding in a smile but failed miserably as the smile soon lit up his face. Well, then Bridget, could you be any more creepy?

"Ever think that maybe I want to smell like," I took a second glance at the can "jolly pine?"

"You got a little of it on your face." Nick made the motion of his finger encircling his entire face.

"No shit, really? I never noticed." I replied back to Nick with sarcasm lacing my voice. "Now that I smell like a forest, I have a job to do. Fingerprints wait for no one!" As I walked out of the break room, I did a wave in the air not looking back.

I sat in the fingerprint lab, waiting for the results I found on the countertop cleaner Warrick found in the dumpster. It was nerve-wracking waiting for the results. I've done this before, but I guess since it's my first official case the nerves are on the edge. It seemed like I had been waiting for hours when in reality I'm sure it's only been a few minutes.

As if the computer was reading my thoughts, it beeped letting me know it came up with a hit. Eagerly, I looked at the computer screen. It was a match, to the Casino manager Izac Rinker. Just as I took out my phone to notify Warrick and Nick, Grissom strolled into the lab.

"I hope we're being productive here." He stopped to stand a few feet away from me.

"We are, Warrick and I stopped by the Casino a little while ago. Both of us figured we should check the dumpster for possible evidence that may have been thrown out. We didn't come up empty handed, as we found a wet rage that someone tried to get blood out of and a cleaner. I printed the can, then ran it through AFIS. Just got the results back, it's the Casino manager's Izac Rinker's print." I looked towards Grissom and saw him nod his head.

"Not only did you find his print on this cleaner container, but on the doorknob to the bathroom when he said he'd never been near the bathroom? I'm going to call Brass, have him bring him, see what's he's not telling us." When I gave him a puzzled look at Brass, he clarified. "Jim Brass, he's Captain over at PD. He'll bring him in. Warrick and Nick are out working another case at the moment, so you're on your own with Brass and Rinker until one of them is done." I developed a deer in headlights look on my face.

"I've never questioned a suspect before.."

"You'll be fine, Brass will do most of the talking. All you have to do is present the evidence you found and add a question every now and then. I'll have trace do some testing on the way there, I'll send you directions as well." Without giving me another chance to speak, he walked out of the lab. It's going to be my first time questioning a possible murder suspect. I gulped, knowing that I couldn't afford to choke on this.

 _I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but it's almost 10 pm here and it's the week before finals soooo haha. Also, I hope to get at least one more chapter out on this before the end of the week, I'm shooting for Wednesday, but if not it will be Friday :)_


	4. Chapter 4

My mind was going in circles as I rode in the taxi to the directions Grissom gave me. I'd drive myself there, but Warrick picked me up when he did and I hadn't been able to get back to retrieve my car yet. It's good I'm not driving cause my mind's not in the right place. It's my first time, in an actual interrogation with an actual fucking suspect! I know that this Captain Brass guy will be there with me, but that does NOTHING to reassure my nerves! I know that Izac is just being brought in for questioning, but what if he's the actual killer? Now the thought of almost being alone with a potential killer was freaking me out. As I sat in the back of the taxi, I had to tell myself to calm down. If anything happened, I was going to be in a police station. It couldn't be that bad, right?

The driver of the taxi cab brought me out of my thoughts, telling me we had arrived at the location. Not paying attention to what the meter said, I reached into my pocket and pulled out 40 bucks, handing it to the guy. I told him to keep the change, then I exited the cab. By the look on his face, he had probably just gotten the best tip of the day. I didn't get five steps away from where the cab parked when an older gentlemen had stepped up towards me. He wasn't as tall as the other guys, which was a relief. The man looked as if he was going bald, or his hair started thinning. He seemed to be a bit of a bigger guy too.

"Captain Jim Brass, Grissom sent you over here right?" Brass reached his hand towards me in a professional greeting. I quickly, but firmly shook his hand.

"Yeah, has Mr. Rinker been brought in yet?" I figured Brass was more of a professional type of guy so that's the attitude I was going to go with on this one. A small, barely noticeable smile had graced his face for a second before it disappeared.

"Cutting right to the point, I like it. My men just brought the guy in, he's waiting in one of the interrogation rooms for us. Checked his record while I was waiting for you to get her; a few unpaid parking tickets then a charge for Domestic Battery in 02'." I gulped after he told me about the domestic battery charge. Great, now my first suspect is going to be a hot head. Well, go big or go home. We both started walking towards what I assumed to be the interrogation room. As he led the way, Brass filled me in.

"I know it's your first time, but just keep your cool. An officer will be stationed outside the interrogation room, just in case something happens. I'll be in there, leading the show. When I look at you, present the evidence you have. Then, we'll go from there." Before I knew it, we were standing in front of the door to the interrogation room. I looked through the glass on the door. Izac looked like a typical middle-aged Italian in Vegas. His black hair was slicked back with some sort of thick, hair gel. A thin, gold chain hung around his neck, contrasting against the obvious fake tan his skin held. A black dress shirt was tightly tucked into black dress pants, and a pair of freshly polished black shoes sat on his feet. Well, I wish I had half of the money this guy had. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself before opening the door.

Without making eye contact, I sat down across from Izac. Out of nowhere, Brass handed me a file. I perused through it and saw that it held documentation of the evidence I had already found and the results to the test Grissom said he would run. Wel, those results came fast. Brass wasted no time getting started on the questioning. As soon as the door to the room closer, the questions started coming.

"So Mr. Rinker, Izac if I may. How's managing the Venetian going for you? I bet you could say you've run into some interesting situations." Brass calmly spoke to Izac as he stood next to the metal table we both sat at. Izac shifted in his seat before answering.

"You could say that."

"An interesting situation happened in your casino bathroom, as you know. The murder of your bartender, Paul Randall."

"Yeah, it's the shame. The man always knew how to get the ladies buying drinks." A devilish, snake-like smile snuck its way onto his face. He cast his eyes towards me for a split second, then returned them towards Brass. Man, I haven't even been in the same room with him for five minutes and he's already acting like a pig.

"There's a little bit of a problem with what you said in your statement. You told us you never went towards the bathroom."

"And I never did!" Brass glanced at me. It shows time. I let a slow breath out as I opened the folder as steadily as I could. Clearing my throat, I spoke up.

"On the door to the bathroom, which you said you never went near, your fingerprint was found on the knob. Now, if you never were there, why would your print be on the knob of the door?" I quickly blinked as I thought about what I said. The last part just came out, I have no idea where that came from. From the look on the Captain's face, I wasn't doing badly.

"In case you haven't noticed, I am the Casino manager. My print's probably on every single one of those doors. That doesn't prove that I went near the bathrooms." As I thought about it, he was right. That didn't prove he was there near the time of the murder. I wasn't going to let him think that I was thinking that. I proceeded to pull a picture of the cleaner with his fingerprint on it, and I slid it in his direction.

"My team and I," I paused because saying that statement felt very weird to me. "recovered this countertop cleaner from the alleyway dumpster by the casino. On the can, we found your fingerprint yet again." Izac mouth began to set in a tight line. I had to stop myself from smiling as I knew that I was starting to get this guy. "The bathroom had smelled as if it had been recently cleaned, so I acted on a hunch. I took a swab of the cleaner that was still left on the counter and a sample from the container. The two were a match, the cleaner with your print on the can was used to clean the counter top." Brass tagged me out and stood directly facing Izac.

"You're right, the print on the knob doesn't place you on the scene. The print on the cleaner that was used on the counter, in the murder scene, does." As I watched Izac, I could have sworn the look of fear came upon his face. "Last time I checked, Casino manager's don't clean the bathrooms. That's what they have their maids for. Now, you can start talking here or we can hold you for 48 hours. Maybe sitting in a jail cell for the next few days will have you talking." The fear in his eyes switched to anger as if it were the snap of his finger. Any other emotion he was feeling at the time was replaced by anger and or rage.

"Look, officer and whatever the hell she is, you can't charge me for something I didn't do. I know my rights. So, lock me in a fucking jail cell. I could use a little vacation." He held his hands together as if he wanted us to handcuff him.

"Alright, you said so." Brass motioned towards the window, and the officer who was probably waiting outside the door stepped into the room. He briskly walked over to Izac, then proceeded to lift him up out of the chair slightly and cuff him. The officer guided him towards the door. Izac somehow managed to pull him towards me, and before I knew it Izac tilts his head back slightly and spits in my face. As I stood there, his warm saliva slid it's way down my face.

"Now we can charge you for assault. You'll be getting more than a little vacation now." Izac was guided out of the room quicker, and soon enough it was just Brass and I left in the room.

"Well, I haven't had a questioning go like that in awhile."

"Now I can go home and check 'have a suspect spit in my face' off my bucket list." Brass laughed as I now followed him out of the room.

"At least you have a sense of humor about it, hey Nick." I looked up and saw Nick heading towards this way. I forgot Grissom was going to send either Nick or Warrick after they were done. Guess my mind had really been focused on the questioning. As Nick got closer to the two of us, he answered back.

"How'd the newbie's first questioning go?"

"It was typical, guy denied he never went near the bathroom. Beat around the bush when she brought up the print on the cleaner. Said we couldn't charge him on anything. As he was leaving, he spit on Bridget's face." After finishing his sentence, Brass reached over to a nearby tissue box and handed me one. I gratefully took it as I started to wipe down the saliva off my face. "Well, I have paperwork to go do. Good job on the first questioning." Brass nodded, then walked over towards another path of the Police Department. I looked at Nick, and he looked slightly ticked off. Then again, I barely know the guy so I don't know what he's thinking.

"The guy actually spit on you?" His voice had a hard edge to it as he spoke. Yep, he's slight ticked off.

"Yeah, but it's fine I guess. I know he only did that cause he knew I had him." I walked past Nick as I continued wiping his spit off my face. "Well, I see you at the lab. I have to catch a cab back to my place so I can pick up my car." As I continued walking towards the entrance, I heard Nick speed walk to catch up with me.

"Don't take a cab, I'll drop you off at your place then follow you back to the lab." I smiled at his offer, but I declined it.

"It's fine Nick, I'll just take a cab. I am an independent woman after all." That caused Nick to snicker slightly as he now walked in line with me.

"You can drop the independent woman shit alright? Besides, as you know I am from Texas and we don't take no for an answer. You're riding with me, no objections." He walked ahead of me, giving me no other option. I stood there for a minute just looking at Nick. Why was he being so insistent on the situation? I mean for some reason, I just don't buy the 'I take no for an answer' attitude. I'm probably just imaging the whole thing.

I vaguely heard Nick in front of me call out, "You coming?"

About 10 minutes have now passed and I was now sitting back in the passenger seat of the Tahoe as Nick drove me back to my place. Ever since our little exchange in the hall, few words have passed between us. I was staring out the window absentmindedly when Nick spoke up.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked out of the blue as we had pulled to a red light. "It's almost 4 pm and Imagine you didn't have to eat anything this morning before Warrick picked you up."

"Umm no I haven't.." I said slowly. That was a random question from him. Well, it could have been weirder right?

"Great, after I drop you off at your car and you head back to the lab and I'll pick something up." There was a moment of silence before he continued. "I'll ask the rest of the lab, see if they want anything." That last part didn't sound as smooth as the rest of the sentence.

"Works with me." The green light flashed and we continued on our way. It didn't take long before we reached my place. Before I knew it, I was getting out of the car and walking towards my car when Nick had rolled down the window.

"Anything in particular?"

"Anything with meat, I'll be fine with." He laughed to himself as he began to pull away.

"A woman after my own heart.." I heard the window roll up, then the car drive out of the lot. Well, there's another weird statement. I'm just putting to much thought into it. Now I was really looking forward to that food.

 _I know i said I wouldn't have a chapter out til Wednesday but the plans I were suppose to be going on til late tonight got cancelled so I've spent the past two hours or so writing this haha Even though I already wrote another chapter, since there is so much time left, there's like a 75% chance I'll write another chapter and post it by Friday Night! :) Hope you guys have been enjoying it so far, and thanks for continuously reading this! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

It felt nice to ride in a car that didn't feel like it was 10 ft off the ground. My black chevy malibu has been sort reliable, it's like home now. I just realized that me saying that makes me sound extremely weird. Anyways, I only got lost for five minutes getting to the lab which I think is an accomplishment. As I climbed out of my car, my phone buzzed, letting me know I had gotten a text. Glancing at it, I saw it was Nick and it read ' _How's roast beef with melted cheese and grilled onions sound to you?'_ My mouth salivated as I read that text. That sounded so good right about.

I shot of my response of ' _That sounds amazing, yes please!'_ then slipped my phone back in my pocket before heading in the lab. As I walked the halls, I started getting this weird fulfillment feeling in my stomach, making me feel not so empty. I know I shouldn't be counting my eggs before they hatch, but I feel really welcomed here. It doesn't help that I'm a, living out my dream and b, getting to know some halfway decent looking people. A smile lit up my face as I finally found myself in the area I was familiar with. I passed by Grissom's office and paused at the doorway. I glance in and see him closely studying some sort of beetle crawling around in a jar. Just as I started to continue my walk, he looks up from his specimen. When the two of us locked eyes, Grissom motioned for me to step into his office. My feet slowly stepped in towards his office.

"The Carabidae are quite beneficial to us humans. They're known for hunting down various insects." I raised an eyebrow because I no idea what the hell he was talking about.

"The Ground Beetle. That's not what I called you in here for.." He set the beetle in the jaw down before peering over the edge of his glasses for me. "I have a stack of paperwork I need you to fill out. Just the basic info for records, medical information. Also for insurance papers too." His left-hand moves two inches to grab a small stack of papers. "There they are," Grissom states as he tosses them on the front of the desk. "I'm going to need some of your blood too." Say what? He did not just ask for my fucking blood! Why the hell would he need that?!

"I'm sorry but what would do you need my blood for?" I asked as I was honestly creeped out by his request. He paused momentarily as if he was contemplating what he was going to say.

"It's standard protocol for all CSI's, I just need to know if the next day or so when we can draw it." This was going to be an issue. I have a... fear of needles. It's not that I have such a fear that I won't get any sort of shot or surgery done, I'd just rather not have any sort of needles anywhere near me. Despite this, I nodded my head and told him I'd do it after I was done with the paperwork. I grabbed the small stack off his desk.

"Nick and Warrick will cover you while you're doing this, I'll have them catch you up sometime after you're done." His gaze fell from me and turned back towards the beetle in the jar. Taking that as the hint to leave, I nodded my head then walked out of his office. Standing there in the hall, I mentally debated where I would be able to sit down and do the paperwork in one sitting. The first place I thought of was the break room that looked like a conference room as well. With the paperwork in hand, I headed towards that direction.

My head had been stuck in the paperwork for almost an hour now, and I could, at least, say I was almost done with it now. The chairs around the table are semi-comfortable, just not for long term use. I can't tell you how many times I've switched the position I'm sitting in. Currently, my right leg is braced against one of the legs of the table, with my other leg crossed over the top of it. Usually, when I sit in this type of position, my legs fall asleep pretty quickly. I'm actually surprised I still have feeling in my leg.

As I sat at the table working on the paperwork, I was humming 'Don't Stop Belivin' by Journey to myself. It helps me focus when I need to. Just as I got to the chorus of the song, I heard two voices start walking towards the room. It sounded like it was Catherine and some other girl I've yet to hear.

"So Sara, how's the home invasion coming along? The husband still a suspect?" I heard Catherine ask the girl Sara. I remember who Sara is! She was the one who was supposed to meet me for my first autopsy instead of Nick.

"Actually no, we moved on to the wife's best friend. Found out the husband is the old boyfriend in college that the best friend never got over. Her hair happened to be found on the smashed window." Sara's voice wasn't too light, yet it wasn't too deep either. I'm not meaning to sound extremely creepy here, but I like the sound of her voice.

"Damn, is there any loyalty left in Vegas?" Catherine did have a point there. From the short I've been here so far, it seems the minute people get the chance to stab someone in the back they do. "Hey, it's the new girl. Bridget right?" I looked up from the paperwork to have both Catherine and Sara staring at me.

"Yep, that's me.." The both looked at the papers.

"Oh, he has her doing the paperwork." Sara points out. I don't mean to sound like a jerk but isn't that stating the obvious?

"He's going to draw her blood next!" When Catherine had said that, the two girls had developed smiles on their faces. Without saying another word, they both walked the other direction. Okay, is there something I don't know about the whole blood thing? What could possibly be the big deal about the whole thing? Shaking my head, I shook my head and muttered, "Something weird going on here..." Just as I finished the last of the work, I heard someone walk in with what sounded like a paper sack.

"Your lunch has arrived..." Nick spoke as he sat the sack in front of me. I glanced over at him as I noticed Nick was almost standing over me.

"Ohh you have the paperwork, then the blood drawing thing huh?" WHAT IS WITH THIS BLOOD THING?! Now I want to know what the hell he uses it for!

"What is the big deal with the blood drawn? This is doing nothing for my fear of needles here!" As I set aside the papers and grabbed the paper sack, I heard Nick stifle a laugh.

"Afraid of needles? I thought you were Ms. Badass from Denver?" I had just taken my sandwich out of the bag when he had said this. You know, I now have the strong urge to slap the shit out of him right now. He's also got me this lunch, which smells absolutely amazing, so I can't really do anything.

"Screw you Nick." I was hoping he would take that in the joking manner I meant it in.

"Sorry, that whole thing really doesn't appeal to me.." I finally noticed that he had taken a seat across from me at the table. I glanced at him as I unwrapped my sandwich.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" I questioned Nick as he leaned back in the chair, looking oddly comfortable and at home.

"I could say the same thing to you.." He crossed his arms over his chest as he gave me a 'so there' face.

"I'm gaining some energy before I have the worst experience of my life." As I took a bite of the roast beef with cheese, I briefly noticed him watching me as I ate. "not that I don't mind the company but um. it's kind of creepy with you just watching me."

"Suck it up Rook, you've got some company." Another smiled danced about his face, which almost made me smile. I do have to admit, Nick does have a nice smile. I just shook my head, knowing I wasn't going to be able to get rid of him.

 _I didn't think I'd be writing another chapter, but again lots of time on my hands so why not write! Also, I apologize for this chapter being so short! For some reason, the Doc. Manager wasn't keeping the other 1,500 words of the chapter I had planned out so now I have to split this into two chapters :( But that means more updates for you guys so yay hahaha_

 _Also, I need to ask you guys a favor. To my two fans I have out there lol I would LOVE for you guys in your reviews to tell me your two favorite things about this fanfic so far and don't be afraid to go into detail! I'm asking this because I want to know what you guys like in this so I can incorporate more of that into here! Thanks so much for helping out! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

For roughly the next hour or so, I sat there with Nick as I ate my lunch. The two of us had a nice and easy conversation throughout my entire meal. He asked various questions about my life back in Colorado and I, in turn, asked him about Texas. Nick told me countless stories about the various siblings he has, his football days, and among other things. There wasn't much to tell him about me; I'm an only child and I don't talk to my parents much which is exactly what I told him. He seemed shocked and slightly disappointed that I wasn't close with my parents like he was. All I told him is that my parents weren't extremely affectionate towards me when I was younger.

Eventually, I craned my neck to look at the clock. It was almost 6:50. I should probably get the blood drawing thing over with shouldn't I? I stood up from the table, stretching my arms above my head.

"Well, this has been fun... but I've got needles calling my name. Have fun with whatever it is your going to do." Gathering up the garbage from my lunch, I made my way over towards the garbage can that's by the sink.

"That's right, for protocol and what not." I could hear Nick begin to stand up from the table as I tossed my garbage in the bin. I glanced at him, making brief eye contact.

"After getting it drawn, I'm going to check with Grissom and see if it's ok to head on home afterward. Getting my blood drawn messes me up for awhile."

"Already cleared it with him.." This time, I turned around to face Nick. When I raised an eyebrow at him, he cracked a wide smile. "Your welcome." I couldn't help but smile as well. It seemed that Nick was always going to be one step ahead of me.

"See you tomorrow Nick!" I started walking out of the break room when Nick caught my attention. "I don't think so. You're not driving yourself home after you get your blood drawn, you insane?" I know he was looking out for me, but this is starting to piss me off. I'm sorry, but I'm really a capable person. I know it's not exactly recommended you drive yourself home after getting it done, but you know, it wouldn't be the worst thing I've done.

"Nick, I get you're trying to help and I appreciate it, but I've got this one."

"Not only would you be endangering yourself if you went behind the wheel, but you could possibly be putting other people's lives at risks. That's not going to happen on my watch. I'll have Greg tell me when you're done so I can come get you." Nick stomped off without letting me get in edge word in. What in the hell is he so pushy for? I have a feeling this is going to be my relationship with him the entire time I know him; 50% of the time I'm going to think he's an ok guy, the other 50% is going to be wanting to strangle him. Of course, our relationship will be nothing but a working, friendship...

I wanted to get this over with, so I walked off to the DNA lab in which I figured Greg would be. I saw the lab before I actually stepped in. As I approached, Greg saw me heading in his direction.

"Grissom warned me of your arrival, ready to have your blood drawn?" Greg called out with a boyish grin lighting up his face. A returned the smile, determined to not let my current mood with Nick simmer over.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Pre-warning, I'm not a fan of needles so I can't make any promises.."

"Don't worry, If I can handle working with semen all day I think I can deal with someone who freaks a little at needles.." I laughed as I stepped into the lab. It didn't take long for Greg to get everything ready. I sat in one of the chairs there as he was de-sanitizing the needle just in case. I asked him if eating before getting my blood drawn was an issue because I've heard from several people it's not recommended. Greg assured me and told me that fasting before giving blood is a choice, but not necessary. I made the mistake of looking out of the corner of my eye as he was cleaning the needle. My eyes caught a glimpse of the needle and my breathing picked up. Shit, this is not good. I tried mentally telling myself that everything was ok, that there was nothing to worry about but my brain didn't listen to me.

I quickly started panicking and my breathing started to labor. Next thing I know, I was falling to the floor as everything went black.

My eyes slowly opened to take in my living room. I looked down slightly and realized that I was laying on my couch, with my red plaid throw blanket laid over me. I know I passed out when I had a panic attack after I saw the needle, but how the hell did I get home? I don't remember taking myself. Truth to be told I don't remember jack shit after what happened. Slowly, I sat up on the couch. My eyes caught the attention of a piece of paper lying on my coffee table. I may have been out, but I know I didn't put that there earlier.

As if the paper were a bomb that would go off at any moment, I carefully picked up the paper. As I turned it over in my hands and examined it, I noticed it wasn't my handwriting. With my curiosity now getting the better of me, I read over what was written on the paper.

 _Greg told me about the little 'incident' you had with the needle. Don't worry, I won't embarrass you with it, yet. Figured the least I could do was take you home. You owe me big time, just haven't thought of how you can make it up to me. I'm only kidding about the previous statement, like slightly.. I'm seriously still thinking._

 _Nick_

I'm not quite sure how to handle that to be honest. I guess it was nice of him to take me home when someone else could have easily done it. Now as this whole situation is playing through my head, I can't imagine how awkward this probably was for Nick. Just taking a random co-worker who passed out home and tucking her in. He's probably right, I owe him.

I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or not but my phone laid next to where the piece of paper was. As I my eyes practically glared at my phone, I figured I should call Warrick and inform him of the whole situation, then ask him on how the case is progressing. My hand reached towards my phone, then dialed Warrick's number. I would hold it up to my ear, but I felt a slight headache coming on so I just put it on speaker then set it on the coffee table.

"You've got Warrick.." He answered professionally.

"Hey Warrick, it's me, Bridget."

"Oh, hey Rookie. Nick told me about the whole needle and blood drawn thing.." I THOUGHT HE SAID HE WASN'T GOING TO EMBARESS ME WITH IT YET?!

"Please tell me you, Greg, and Nick are the only one's that know? Oh, and Grissom too..."

"Yeah, we're the only ones that know..." There was a moment of silence between us before Warrick had spoken up again. "Little birdie told me Nick took you home, that true?" How the hell could he find that out? Wait, Nick most likely told Greg and well... Greg seems to be a bit of a chatterbox.

"As far as I know, yes. I woke up on my couch, with a blanket laid on top of me." I swear I could hear the smirk grow on Warrick's face as I said that sentence.

"Well, look's like my boy's taken quite a shine to you." I brushed that comment as if I didn't hear it.

"Have you been hanging out with Nick lately? You seem to be speaking like him. Warrick, I''m concerned." Warrick just laughed at my comment.

"You wouldn't be the only one. Grissom says just stay at home, but be sure to be here 7 am sharp. Want's a briefing with Nick, you and I first thing in the morning before we start the day."

"Alright, I'll be there.." Warrick had one more comment before I hung up.

"Oh, and Bridget?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be surprised if Nick asks you out within the next few weeks. This is how he gets with a girl he likes.." I wasn't able to get a response in before he hung up. I just sat there, staring at my phone in my hand. Warrick was kidding, right? No offense to Nick but I haven't even known him for a week! There's no way he was being serious. If he was, I have some interesting things coming my way.

 _YAY IT'S FRIDAY WOOO haha all that aside, here's the new chapter obviously lol. Also, fact about me that pertains to the story. I hate needles too just like Bridget. I don't react as badly as she did, but it's still not fun haha. Few things, one there will be another chapter tomorrow and possibly Sunday yet, I haven't decided yet if I want to or not :) Also, my finals are this week so I may not update much this week but once I get on break, I will be updating frequently throughout :) Be hyped and excited I guess? hahaha_

 _One last thing, my project for the next few days it to come up with a Ship name for Nick and Bridget, cause you know they're awesome! Anyways, have a good weekend guys! :)_


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning I woke up at 6:00 on the dot. Since, I was up and ready to go to the lab by 6:15, I figured I'd head out there earlier. Have time to kill, might as well use it wisely. As I drove to work (which still sounds really weird coming out of my mouth), I surprisingly felt well rested. I hadn't even had my daily cup of coffee! Maybe I don't need it today.

I pulled into the crime lab at 6:45. I sat there in my car, as "I'll make Love to You" by Boys to Men came on. Don't judge, but this happens to be one of my favorite songs. I may not look like it, but I can dig R&B occasionally. I sat in my car for a minute or so, just slightly moving to the beat. I jolted up in my seat when I heard someone knock on my window. Glancing over, I saw Warrick standing there with an eyebrow raised. I turned my car off then opened the door.

"Am I going deaf or did I just hear to listening to Boys to Men? Not meaning to sound racist or anything but didn't think white people listened to that." All I did was crack a smile as I got out of the car and closed the door.

"You just missed it, man I was listening to Tupac as well.." The sarcasm in my voice was so thick, he would have to be a dumbass not to get it. Luckily, Warrick got it and just shook his head. We walked up to the front doors of the lab together, and as I put my hand on the handle of the door, a car screeched into the parking lot. Both of us turned our heads and watched as Nick practically jumped out of his car as he slammed the door after him. He put the mess, in walking mess. His left boot was untied and threatened to trip him every time he took a step, his white shirt was untucked and unbuttoned at the collar. Not to mention his entire collar was crooked too. What the hell happened to him?

"I'm not late am I?" Nick rushed out as he got up in front of us.

"No, made it just in time." I attempted to sugar coat the fact that he looked like a tornado hit him. He probably felt bad enough so there was no need for me to make him feel any worse right? Warrick, on the other hand, wasn't so gentle.

"Nicky, you look like a fucking mess." For some reason, Warrick's eyes zoned in on Nick's shirt collar. "Look's like someone had fun last night, and this morning.." I looked at his collar more carefully now. I noticed that what looked like a lipstick stain on his collar. Ok then.

Nick tried to peer down at his own collar. When he finally had gotten a look at it, he shook his head.

"Great, now I have to change shirts in the locker room. Can you guys cover me while I change?" His eyes switched between the two of us. As if on cue, both of sighed and nodded our heads. Nick grew a grin on his face.

"Thanks, I owe you guys." As he walked around the two of us to enter, he shot an apologetic look towards me. A confused look appeared on my face, and he just opened the doors and walked in. Why would he be giving me an apologetic look? It's not like he owed me or anything.

After Nick walked in, both Warrick and us walked into the lab. We made small talk as the two of us made our way through the lab. We looked for Grissom in all of the labs but didn't find him. We even checked his office and couldn't find him. Warrick told me this was very uncharacteristic of him. When he wanted to talk to you, you were going to talk to him; plain and simple. Just as we began another sweep through the halls, we ran into Grissom, literally. Looks like we caught him in the nick of time as he looked like he was about to head out into the field.

"Warrick, Bridget hello. We're going to have to re-schedule the debriefing, we're short handed and I have to go out to another home invasion connected with Catherine and Sara's case."

"I got a call from Brass early this morning, said we had gotten a search warrant to search the Casino manager's office for anything he might have hidden in there."

"Good, the three of you can go there and process it. Call me with what you get." Grissom gave us a final nod before heading off in the other direction. The thought crossed my head of me getting to search my first place. For some reason, excitement shot through my veins and I had to fight the smile that was threatening to overtake my entire face.

"Someone's excited," Warrick commented as I started following him to wherever the hell he was going.

"Of course, the joy of legally rifling through people's personal possessions sometimes get's me excited." Warrick chuckled as we arrived at our destination which was the locker room they were talking about. As I peeked in, I saw Nick standing there as he straightened out a black shirt he put on.

"Yo Nick, we're all heading to the casino manager's office with a warrant." Nick whipped around to look at Warrick. He shut his locker door and he said, "All right, I'll drive."

"You driving? Do you want to kill us all?" Warrick poked fun at Nick, which just made him smile.

"Look who's talking here!" Warrick had cracked a smile now as well.

"I'd say let Bridget here drive, but she can't even get into the driver's seat to drive." Ohh now Warrick's poking fun at me? I see how that is.

"I may be short, but I can still kick your ass."

"I feel so threatened, want me to get you a stepladder so you can?" Ok, I had to admit that was a good one. I was about to say what I hoped was a witty comeback when Nick interrupted the two of us.

"Not that I don't love hearing this spar between the two of you, I really do but let's get moving. I can tell Rookie here's jumping at the chance to do so." What the, how did he know? You know what, never mind. He's right about that anyway. The three of us exited the locker room and left towards the entrance. After all, of us had transferred our kits to one of the black Tahoe's, we went on our way with Nick driving.

Within 20 minutes of hitting the road. We arrived back at the casino to search his office. When we all got out of the car I spoke up.

"We didn't die, thank god!" I was in the mood to rag on Nick at the moment, ok?

"Wow Bridget, I see you had faith in my driving abilities," Nick replied sarcastically. As we all grabbed our kits, I began putting on gloves. As always, it's been a force of habit to put them on before you even went near the scene. Thanks professors for drilling that into my head! It only took us a minute or so before we had gotten inside the casino and were now facing the managers office. With a gloved hand reached out, Warrick twisted the knob and let the door swing open. The protruding smell of rotting food and cigars hit my nostrils. I fought back the urge to cough as the smells assaulted my nose. The cleanliness of the room wasn't doing well either. Various papers and types of trash were strewn about the room. An assortment of dirty dishes and silverware were also all over the place.

"Well, it's obvious this guy never got around to cleaning." We all stepped on the clear pathways that must have been set my Izac himself in order to get through. Nick suggested we split the room into thirds. With all of us agreeing, we took to our sections and started pawing through the garbage. It was extremely difficult to tell what was evidence and what was just plain garbage. In the corner of my section, sat an armchair that you couldn't sit on it due to the large piles of trash piled on top of it. As I started pawing through it, flashing the beam of my flashlight on everything, something caused a glare to flash back at me. It took me a minute to recover from being blinded but once I did, I searched through the pile. My flashlight hit what caught the reflection again and this time, I looked to see what it was.

A silver handgun was wedged between a pile of old playboy's and a few hardbound books. I reached out and picked it up. I called out to the guys.

"Found a handgun over here." This made their heads pick up from the piles of trash that they were currently sorting through. Nick carefully made his way through the garbage towards me. Once he got over towards me, I handed over the gun.

"Beretta 92, nothing in the chamber." Nick emptied the clip from the handgun. "One missing from the chamber, could be the murder weapon." Nick handed the gun back towards me. "Bag it, and tag it, Rookie. Nice work." He gave me a quick smile before making his way back over the numerous piles of trash. As I documented the gun and bagged it I heard Warrick speak up.

"There's one thing in the guy's paper shredder, seems to be some sort of business document. Take it back to the lab, see what this guy felt the need to shred." We continued searching the office until we double checked every single pile of trash in that room. Other than the handgun and the shredded document, we found nothing else. I still good though since we did find something. Besides, it gave me the opportunity to learn more about Izac by rifling through his... possessions. I found countless empty wrappers of snickers bars, and stacks of different playboy magazines. To each their own, I guess?

All of us had made it back to the lab before 11 pm. All of us split up; Warrick going to take the Beretta to ballistics, Nick going to check and see if they found anything on the security cameras and Me going to one of the tables to put the business letter together. As I stood there at the lab table, trying to put the document together, I was enjoying myself yet hating the tedious checking of the pieces. This whole process was making me feel accomplished and important as I knew that this document could hold an important clue to the case. Bit by bit, I slowly starting to put the letter together. I got to the part where the top portion was assembled and it looked like the top of some letterhead.

It was awhile before I finished putting the letter together. When I put the last piece in, the biggest of smiles broke out on my face. As I stared down at what I now knew was a letter, I read through it. Once, I read through it I practically peeled out of that room in search of either Warrick or Nick. Just as I exited the room, I rammed into someone, nearly losing my balance. Luckily, the person had grabbed ahold of shoulders to keep me from falling over.

"Where's the fire, Bridget?" Nick joked as he straightened me out. There were a few seconds of straight on eye contact before Nick released my shoulders. When he did that, it seemed that a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.

"No fire, just I finished putting the letter together from the paper shredder and I went to find one of you guys." I walked back into the room and I motioned for him to follow me. Nick walked into the room behind me, and I gestured my arm towards the table.

"When I did finish putting this together, I noticed it was some sort of typed out letter printed on a letterhead sort of paper for the Venetian. It was to Izac, and it mentions Paul but was written by some guy named Dominic." He raised an eyebrow, then leaned over the table to read the letter.

"Izac, Both Paul and I know what's you've been doing. I wasn't going to say anything about it, but Paul wants to go to the cops about it. He's starting to convince me to do so. What you're doing needs to stop. You've been warned, Dominic." He finished reading over the letter then looked towards me. "Well that makes things interesting doesn't? It seems Izac's been doing some things that are being frowned upon. I'll cross check the name Dominic will employees at the Venetian, see what I come up with. In the meantime, get in touch with Warrick and catch him up on what you found, then we'll all go from there." At this point, he stood straighter as he looked at me.

"I'm impressed Bridget, you've really been surprisingly me with your work." While looking at me, he smiled at me. It wasn't like all the other times he has, though. It seemed different like it was more heartfelt I guess? I don't know, it just feels different.

"Since you owe me for the whole needle thing," The smile was replaced with a smirk. "I figured you could do me the honor of sitting down to a meal with me whenever the case lets us." Did he just ask me to have dinner with him? Nah, he couldn't have.

"I don't know if I can put up with you for that long.."

"Remember me not taking no for answer thing? Yeah, that's still in effect here." With that, he sauntered out of the room and down the hall. I watched the doorway long after he had left. I'm not sure on how to answer that... Did I really want to have dinner with him?

 _So we're back to long chapters, yay! haha Anyways, there's a slight chance another chapter may be tomorrow night as well haven't decided yet. Nick and Bridget have a sort of, maybe dinner date finally! I hope you guys are as excited as I am about that haha :D_


	8. Chapter 8

I took Nick's advice and started making my way through the lab, trying to find Warrick. As I was searching for him, my mind kept playing through the conversation I had with Nick. I was still debating whether I actually wanted to have dinner with him or not. My brain knew it was nothing but a platonic thing between us. Besides, I did kind of owe him for what he has done. Even though both I and my brain knew that, I was still freaking out. One part of me was thinking that this was anything BUT platonic. Not to put the blame on other people, but Warrick's the one who said he'd be asking me out within a few weeks. They're good friends, Warrick wouldn't lie to me about that would he?

I tried to put that whole situation out of my brain as I continue looking for Warrick. Eventually, I found him in a room with another guy in a lab coat. When I stepped into the room, I figured this was their ballistics lab as there was some sort of water tank set up in one corner of the room.

"Hey Warrick, what did you get on the gun?" I figured I'd find out what he had first since I probably intruded their conversation.

"That this isn't the murder weapon used to kill Paul. It's the same caliber, and the same type of gun but this one isn't it." Warrick blew out a frustrated breath. I would be too if I found out what I thought was the murder weapon, wasn't it. "Unless Izac used another gun and ditched it, the only thing he's guilty of is cleaning the bathroom. Did you get anywhere on what was found in the paper shredder?" I caught him up to speed, informing him of what the letter said and that Nick was already working on finding Dominic.

"Good work, Izac may no longer be our prime suspect, but Dominic may have climbed to the top." As I opened my mouth to speak, my cell phone started ringing. With a confused look on my face, I pulled it out and read the caller ID out loud. "Alarm company, wonder why they're calling me?" I answered the phone, the curiosity now peaking out in my voice.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this Bridget Graves?" A middle-aged man asked me.

"This is she."

"Ms. Graves, we got a notice that your alarm had gone off at your house 40 minutes ago and hasn't been shut off. Are you at home?" Something set off the alarm, that's unusual.

"Um no, I've been at work all day."

"I would advise that you head home, make sure everything's ok. Do you want me to send a uniformed officer to meet you there?" Deep down inside, I figured it was nothing but the precaution was still comforting.

"Yes please, I'll be there as soon as I can." I didn't let him answer before hanging up the phone and sticking it back in my pocket. Looking at Warrick and the other guy, I spoke up. "I have to uh, head home. The alarm was set off a while ago apparently, and I want to make sure everything's ok. They want me to meet an officer there." Warrick nodded then gave me a sympathetic look.

"It's all right, I'll cover you when you're gone. Hope everything goes well." I got to my car as quickly as I could, cause I just wanted to get this all squared away because this is the last thing I needed.

When I got to my place 15 minutes later, I was pretty sure I had gotten several tickets on my way over here. As I began to get out of my car, an LVPD officer had practically greeted me at my car.

"Ms. Graves, I'm Officer Reyes. I cleared the place, there's no one here, but you're not going to like what the inside looks like. Raising an eyebrow, I proceeded to get out of my car and walk up to my front door. As I got closer, I noticed the front door had been cracked wide open. I looked inside, and my living room was completely trashed. They even went as far as to cut open all my couch cushions.

"Shit..." Was the only words I were able to formulate.

It's been weeks since my home's been broken into. I've been told by Officer Reyes that they're no closer to catching the guy who did it. On the side, the Paul Randall case isn't going anywhere either. Nick's having a hard time tracking down this Dominic character, who's now been identified as Dominic Vasquez the bus boy. Izac's lawyer has been dragging his feet, making us unable to question him about the letter we found. In the meantime, I was put on Sara and Catherine's case to help wrap it up. Turns out it was the best friend that broke in. It also turns out that the husband cheated on his wife with the best friend during a drunk one-night stand, and the best friend got pregnant. When the husband refused to help her and leave his wife, she resorted to this. Even though I wasn't with this case since the beginning, it still felt good closing a case and putting one more guy behind bars.

I was now finishing up my lunch in the break room with Catherine and Nick, as she told us about the play her daughter Lindsay was starring in. Over the past weeks, I've gotten to know all the CSI's more, especially Catherine since I helped her with the case and Nick because he was always around. It was nice to be able to start connecting with people.

"Now, I have to find a pink fairy princess dress for Lindsay to wear during the play. Where the hell am I suppose to find that?!" I chuckled as I heard Nick's phone vibrate on the table. I glanced over to see him check his phone, then deposit it in his pocket.

"Ladies, it's been nice having lunch with you, but Grissom has summoned me."

"What's he got you doing now Nicky?" Every time someone called him that, it still made me smile as if I were hearing it for the first time.

"Ah, he want's me to go over some evidence from a burglary a few weeks back, make sure we didn't skip over anything." He got up from the table and proceeded to throw his garbage out. "I'll see you all later." He threw us a smile before heading off down the hall. Once he had left, Catherine turned to look back at me.

"I forgot to mention this but thanks for your help on closing the home invasion case. Made everything a lot smoother." As I picked up my water bottle, I replied to her.

"It's no problem, anything I can do to help. By the way, this isn't me trying to suck up to you." Catherine let out a laugh as she began to gather her own garbage.

"I figured as much. If you were kissing my ass you would've been trying harder than you are now. What are you going to do now since your case is on a stand still?"

"Have no clue, figured I might drop by the DNA lab see if Greg needs my help with anything."

"Greg's going to need all the help he can get. He's going to say he doesn't need it, but trust me he's backed off." Catherine now had headed towards the door with her garbage. "Paperwork is calling my name, talk to you soon." She gave me a wave before heading in the same direction Nick had gone off in. As I started gathering my garbage, my own phone went off that was on the table. I noticed the caller ID read Nick, but I didn't answer as I was in the middle of something. I went towards the sink to grab a paper towel to wipe down the table when Warrick had strode into the break room with a bounce in his step.

"Just got notification from Brass, they finally located Dominic Vasquez. He wanted to bring the guy in, but I just told him we'd head on over to his house. Feel like coming along?"

"Are you kidding me, I'd love to!" Another ringing broke out through the room. I checked my phone and noticed it wasn't mine. It must have been Warrick's as he had his phone pulled out and answered before you could blink.

"You got Warrick Brown here," He answered somewhat professionally. I couldn't tell who the person was on the other end, but I was able to hear the aggravated tone in their voice. "Woah, slow down. Yeah, she's here with me. No, I don't know why the fuck she didn't answer her phone." Warrick pulls the phone away from his ear and shoves it in my direction. "It's Nick, says he tried calling earlier?" With a raised eyebrow, I take the phone out of his hand. I brought the phone up to my ear just as Warrick started backing out of the room to give me space. What the hell is he doing that for?

"Yeah?" My voice came across light and easy, which I was hoping would make him chill out slightly.

"Wanna explain something to me?" His voice came out in a very gruff and agitated manner. I noticed his southern drawl was more prevalent now. That must have been a habit of his when he got even the slightest bit angry.

"What exactly am I explaining here?" I questioned him because I had no freaking clue what he was talking about. I could hear Nick scoff at me from the other end. Well, what the hell happened to him?

"Fine, I'll help ya out here. Tell me, why the hell am I going through evidence with your name on it?"

"Because I was the original person to bag it and document it?" The more he spoke, the more confused I got.

"No, you don't understand what I'm saying." Obviously, otherwise, I wouldn't have a confused tone in my voice! "The burglary evidence Grissom wanted me to double check? Yeah, it's the evidence from when your house was broken into!" It took me a moment before the dots connected in my head. Shit, this is not how I wanted this to end up. I honestly forgot that Nick didn't know about my house getting broken into. Everyone else knew; cause I told Grissom, He told Warrick, then Greg overheard Warrick saying something about it and he just kind of spread it around. I'm actually kind of shock that Nick got left out of this somehow.

"Ohh that, yeah it happened awhile back. Must have forgotten about it."

"How do you forget about your house being broken into? And how is it I'm just finding out about this? I thought we were good enough," Nick paused in the middle of his sentence for some reason. "friends for you to tell me when something like this happens!"

"Relax Nick, there was nothing that could be done. I've been staying there since then, and nothing else has happened! It was probably just an out of the ordinary thing.." I again tried to use a calmer voice than his, hoping that Nick would catch the drift that everything was fine.

"Hold on, the guy hasn't been caught and your still staying there? What the hell happened to your common sense?" Woah, he needs to slow the fuck down right now. My common sense is just fine, thank you very much!

"Where else was I suppose to go? Listen, I have to go out with Warrick to go talk to Dominic."

"Oh, we are not done talking about this!"

"Never said we were, Gotta go." He just does not want to drop this, does he?

"Ohh don't you dare hang up on-" I hit end call, as I didn't have to listen to him. Also, at this point, I just wanted to push his buttons slightly. I'm sorry but once you start getting on my nerves, it's game on.

I walked out of the break room to find Warrick leaning up against the wall. I handed the phone back to him.

"Everything good?" He asked as he pushed himself off the wall.

"Yep." I gave him an honest answer according to me. If he would've asked Nick, that would not be his answer.

"He sounded pretty pissed off towards the end? What did you do?"

"Hung up on him." I glanced to my right towards Warrick. The biggest smile lit up his face.

"You hung up on him? Man, he's not going to sit well with that at all. You realise that he's most likely hunt you down after we're done right? Cause in his eyes, no one hangs up on Nick Stokes and gets away with it."

"Well, he's just going to have to deal with it then." We started walking away from the break room, but then I remembered my phone on the table in there. I told him to go on ahead as I walked back to get my phone back. When I picked it up, it was already flashing with an incoming call from Nick. Shutting the screen off, I slipped my phone in my pocket then jogged back up to Warrick. Someone was just going to have to deal with not being able to get ahold of me.

 _An intense chapter if I don't say so myself haha. Nick's phone conversation with Bridget after he finds out her house was broken into has definitely been one of my favourite parts of this story to write so far :) What did you guys think?_

 _Uploading schedule this week is going to be sporadic at best; due to finals being the end of this week. I should get one out tomorrow, then possibly Wednesday but if not then Friday! Then after this, it's a two-week Christmas break for me! Which means, more chapters!_


	9. Chapter 9

The ride with Warrick was spent with the two of us making light conversation as music played in the background. Every now and then, I would feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I would check it to make sure it wasn't Grissom or Brass who was calling. It's been Nick both of the times my phone has gone off. You would think he'd get the fucking point by now, but apparently he's too hard-headed for his own good. I don't even know why he's being so pushy about the whole thing either. I hung up, big deal. There're plenty of things in the world worse than that.

The car had finally slowed down and pulled to a stop in front of an apartment building. There was one guy standing in front of the building, and he was fiddling around with a bike that was chained up to a light post. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that the bike isn't his? I glanced over at Warrick, who had now shut off the car and unbuckled. He looked ready to strike at any moment.

"That's Dominic, let's get out there." Nodding, the two of us got out of the car simultaneously. As the two of us approached Dominic, he tore his gaze off the bicycle to glare at us. I watched as Dominic slowly let his eyes roam over the two of us. His eyes glanced over my body much slower than he did Warrick's. Jesus, can I go one day without encountering a pervert, just one? His eyes stopped in its tracks on my hip, then proceeded to grow wide with shock. I looked down briefly to see my identification badge clipped to the edge of my pants. Without blinking, the guy booked it down an alley next to the apartment building.

Not hesitating another moment, both Warrick and I took off down the alley after the guy. Despite our size differences, I was able to keep up with Warrick and vise verse. He may have longer strides, but I was a quick runner. As the two of us continued chasing the guy through the alley, we jumped over various obstacles such as garbage bags and boxes that seemed to fill the alleyway. The two of us were booking it after him, but Dominic was still a decent way ahead of us. As we were running, the alley started narrowing dramatically. It was now at the point where Warrick had to run either directly behind me because there wasn't any room for more than one person to stand or run without the other getting smashed against the wall. An end table of sorts sat in the middle of my path. It was too large for me to jump over, but there seemed to be enough room between the bottom of the table and ground...

Dominic got to the table and stumbled slightly giving us an advantage. When I approached the table, I did the first thing that came to mind. I slid underneath the table, hoping my momentum would carry me forward. I was happy when I came out the other end and was able to jump back up into running fairly quickly. After that, it wasn't long until I finally caught up to Dominic. This is it, now or never. I lunged for his left leg. I managed to grab the leg of his pants. Using whatever weight I could, I yank him down as hard as I could. Thankfully he's not good on his feet because I caught him off balance and he crashed down to the ground in front of me.

Warrick took this as his moment and rushed forward to hold the guy. He swiftly pulled out a pair of cuffs and had them encircled around his wrists within seconds. The two of us were panting as we now stood up from the ground, Warrick bringing Dominic up with him.

"Smooth moves Bridget." Warrick got out as he took a breath in, then turned towards Dominic to speak to him. "See, running wasn't a smart idea after all." In some sort of thick, Spanish accent Dominic replied back.

"I wasn't going to take that bike man, you have no proof!"

"No, but how do you feel about proof connecting you to a murder?" I asked as we started making our way back up the alley. This was the point that Dominic started to mumble under his breath in Spanish. All of a sudden, my arm started getting really warm. I cast my eyes in the direction of my arm and saw that there was a cut which blood was coming out of. Gravel seemed to be embedded into the wound slightly. That must have been from when I baseball slid under the table. Now that I think about it, it may not have been the smartest of ideas. It caught the guy, though, didn't it? I didn't mention to Warrick about as he seemed to have his hands full with Dominic, who was now twisting himself around, trying to get out of his hold. The ride back would no doubt be eventful.

I was now making my way back into the lab. Warrick had dropped me off, telling me he'd take care of Dominic at the station. As I had gotten out of the car, he noticed the cut on my forearm that was no longer bleeding but was covered in dried blood. All he did was make a sarcastic comment under his breath before driving away. Even though I had gotten myself injured, I felt good about chasing down my first suspect. The adrenaline was still pumping through my body as we speak. With my eyes glued to the ground, I almost knocked off Sara as I ran into her. Luckily, she was able to catch herself before she fell.

"Hey, Bridget is it?" I nodded, letting her know she got the name right. "Heard you and Warrick went to go get Dominic, how did that go?" The two of us started walking side by side as I told her everything, including getting my arm cut up from sliding under the table. She chuckled before responding.

"A bit unconventional, but it worked none to less. Might wanna get that cut checked out."Even though I hadn't talked to Sara much, she seemed like a great person. Her general concern for an almost complete stranger was heart warming. As I opened my mouth to respond, another voice cut me off.

"Who are you talking to out there Sara?" Nick's voice spoke up. Oh god, this was going to be interesting. I forgot to mention Nick called twice more as Warrick and I were riding back to the crime lab.

"Ran into Bridget in the hall, she's telling me how it went with Dominic." I swear the minute he heard Sara say my name, Nick was out in the hall. I may have been exaggerating, but just slightly. As if he were some sort of phantom, Nick had popped into the hallway without a notice. By the look he was giving me, he was still angry. If looks could kill, I'd be dead. Glancing between the two of us, Sara took this as her cue to silently leave. When I looked at her, she mouthed 'good luck.' Yeah, I'm going to need all the luck I can get.

For a minute or so, Nick and I stood there in the hall looking at each other. Ok, I was looking at him, and Nick was full on glaring at me. I went to open my mouth, but he raised a single finger in the air. Excuse me?

"Not only did you hang up on me, but you ignored my calls. Not once, not twice, but four fucking times."

"I'm sorry Nick, but last time I checked, I had a job that needed to be done. That takes precedent over whatever the hell you're feeling at the time." That statement caused Nick to glare at me even harder, which I didn't even know was possible. He pinched the bridge the of his nose like he was trying to stop himself from acting out in anger. He released the grip he had on the bridge of his nose, then stepped closer to me. Nick was now standing directly in front of me, staring down at me. With every breath he took, he exhaled loudly. The clean smell of laundry that was radiating off of him slowly started to make its way into my nasal passages. I know it's the wrong time, but he does not smell bad at all.

"From what I know of you so far, what I think isn't going to change how you view a situation. Just know, that I'm not pleased with you not telling me about your house being broken into, or the fact you ignored me." As he spoke, his diction was more noticeable. Nick also seemed to be inching closer to my face as well. At this point, his nose was an inch away from mine. This lasted a few moments, him just staring down at me. With a sigh, he backed off, giving me some space. The muscle in his jaw loosened as he looked at me.

"From the looks of it," Nick glanced at the cut on my arm but didn't say anything. "You've had an interesting night. Want to talk about it over drinks after the shift?" I raised my eyebrow as I looked at him. What, he goes from being incredibly pissed at me to wanting to have drinks with me? Are this guy's emotions hot and cold or what? Looking at the watch on my wrist, I respond.

"That's 6 hours from now."

"What can I say? I like to plan ahead. Are you coming or not?" Nick asked, a smidge of his usual tone creeping back into his voice.

"Alright, I'll be there." I figured why not, it's not like I had anything better to do after my shift was done.

"Good meet me out front." Without giving me any more details, he made his way back into the lab which he had come out of. I stood in the hallway, musing over the conversation we had. I had questions with everything that just went down. Why did he insist on telling me he wasn't happy, what was with his hot/cold attitude, and most important why did he insist on getting right in my face? I mean, I'm all about being close with the people around me, but not necessarily that close. Nick was so close to the point of where I could see the minuscule sized fleck of gold in his eyes. Overall, what was with him?

 _I know I said I'd have a chapter out earlier this week, but I needed extra studying for my finals that are now done with! So now I'm on Christmas break finally! I'll most likely have another chapter up tomorrow night as well :)_

 _So, their just going to be called 'Brick' for the moment until I come up with something better haha As you can see, Nick is not happy with Bridget with the whole house broken into/ignoring him thing then again I would be too if I was him :D How you guys liking the whole Nick and Bridget 'relationship' so far?_


	10. Chapter 10

After our little conversation, I ended up walking to the DNA lab. I saw Greg, running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Giving him one look, I asked him if he needed any help. He gave me the look like he didn't want me to help, but he knew damn well that with my help it would get done sooner. Begrudgingly, he nodded yes. As I slipped on a lab coat, he gave me a tray with blood-filled vials. He instructed me to prep the samples for analysis than got back to what he was doing.

For hours, we worked side by side, prepping many samples of blood then analyzing them. While we were working, Greg played music through a radio that sat on a table near the window. Currently, it was _Smells like Teen Spirit_ by Nirvana. It was a nice change of pace to forget about everything that had happened today and fall into the meticulous task of this. Things that took a delicate hand always calmed me down and put my mind at peace. Now, I know why Greg had always had a laid back, easy demeanor every time I saw him. I would be too if this was the basis of what I did every day. I love the field work, though. I would never give it up.

As I cracked my knuckles, Greg spoke up.

"Thanks for the help new girl. Saved me a lot of time. I told you I'm the king of the lab, but even the king needs help every once in awhile." He didn't just make that analogy, did he? I couldn't contain my laughter as I stood there. I played along, though.

"Well, in that case, consider me your noble knight." I joked back as I took off the lab coat and put it back on the rack where I originally had gotten it from. Glancing at the clock, I saw there were 10 minutes before my shift was over. Spinning around to look at Greg again, I managed to put the biggest smile on my face that I could.

"If you need my help with anything, don't be afraid to ask. I'll be more than willingly to help out a fellow co-worker." Greg gave me a weird look for a second, then his eyes lit up.

"You want to stay late at work, to help me with blood? Who the hell are you trying to avoid." Damn it, I was hoping I was more convincing.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It was either avoiding someone, or you're just trying really hard to kiss my ass."

"What can I say, I'm an overachiever." When I glanced towards the hallway, I saw Nick walking through the halls like he was on a mission. Can I just not do this? I mean, I know I agreed to this ahead of time, but now I'm thinking this isn't such a good idea. Don't judge ok? I'm very back and forth when it comes to decision making. I turned my back towards the hall, hoping Nick wouldn't notice me.

I stood there, my hands gripping the counter for a few seconds. I didn't succeed in not being noticed as I heard Nick go, "There you are! Finally found you, figured we could head out a few minutes earlier. Seeing that, there's nothing else either of us can do." I silently swore under my breath as I turned around. Looks like your going to have to man up and get this over with. Giving Greg a final wave, I made my way out into the hallway.

Nick gave me a smile when I stepped in front of him. As the two of us started walking together, Nick cleared his throat.

"I wanted to say this before we head out, but I'm sorry. My attitude and the way I acted towards you was uncalled for. I could have handled the situation much better than I did. Questioning what happened to your common sense was way outta line, and I apologise for that." I gave him a sideways glance after he finished speaking. Nick apologised, I wasn't expecting that one. I appreciate that he did that, it may not have been easy for him to bite the bullet, so for that I honor him.

"Thank you, I appreciate that." He may have been a overprotected asshole earlier, but despite that he still is a great person to have around. "Does this mean that since you apologised, Nick Stokes is starting to go soft?" I felt that I had to break the awkwardness of the situation by saying that.

When I cast my eyes toward him, I saw him playfully punch my arm. "Nick Stokes does not go soft. Just because I'm in touch with my inner feelings, as well as others, doesn't mean I'm going soft." I rolled my eyes before responding.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

Nick asked me to meet him at a bar that he told me was just down the street. He gave me the basic directions of 'Turn right out of the crime lab, then head down the road until I see Jackson's Bar and Grill on the right side of the road' before getting in his car and driving down the road. Well, seemed simple enough. I got into my Malibu and followed his very basic directions. Sure enough, about 5 minutes down the road, I saw the sign for Jackson's Bar and Grill. I looked and saw that their small parking lot was full. The spot I managed to snag was in the back of the lot. It took me a few minutes just to walk to the entrance of the place. The next challenge was fighting my way through the crowd that seemed to gather by the front entrance.

I elbowed my way through the group of people and managed to break through the group of people to reach the rest of the place. My eyes scanned the place, looking for Nick. I finally found him sitting at a small table located towards the middle of the room. As I made my way towards where he was, I felt many pairs of eyes watching me. This isn't unnerving at all! When I finally got to the table, Nick raised an eyebrow at the look that I must have had on my face.

"You'd swear the guys in here had never seen a woman before," I muttered under my breath as I took the seat across from Nick. I heard a chuckle come from him.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but that's probably the case here." As I brushed my hair out of my face, Nick said "Already ordered you a beer, hope you don't mind." I opened my mouth to say 'No, it's fine with me" when he cut in.

"So what was life like being in Denver?" I'm sure Nick asked it in more of an innocent question sort of way, but I flinched for some reason. I have to admit, my childhood was a bit unconventional, but it's not like it was the worst thing I've ever experienced.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine.."

"No, it's ok.." I took a breath as I grabbed a peanut from the bowl that sat in the middle of the table. "Growing up, I was kind of on my own a lot of the time. My parents weren't really affectionate towards me, and I was kind of the loner kid as well so, I was by myself a lot."

"Oh, so you were the kid that stayed inside reading instead of playing outside with everyone else?" I felt myself blushing slightly as I nodded my head.

"Guilty." In the midst of that little exchange, the waitress had dropped off our drinks. I brought the glass to my lips as he threw another question at me.

"I guess my next question would be how could you just get up and leave? You didn't have anything tying you down; friends, boyfriend?" I had to raise my eyebrow at him mentioning a boyfriend. Not going to lie, it's a bit weird for him to ask that.

"Not really, I mean I told my parents but they didn't really react which wasn't surprising to me." I take it Nick has sensed the hesitation in my last answer because he steered away from that topic. Instead, he asked about why I decided to become a Crime Scene Investigator. After he asked that, the conversation turned away from me completely. I asked him various questions about the team, and he's told me a few stories about the team; like how they were in the middle of running a race and they found a dead body so they had to forfeit the race.

Before the both of us knew it, a few hours had gone by. Eventually, I got up from my seat and started to stretch.

"I should be getting home, as should you. Both of us have to work tomorrow." Nick gave me a sheepish smile before answering. "I don't, tomorrow's my day off." I glared at him before straightening myself out.

"Well, in that case, I'll see you in the next day or so.." Nick had gotten up from the table as well.

"Let me walk you to your car." I opened my mouth to argue but immediately closed it back up. I learned his 'I don't take no for answer' attitude from him plenty of enough times. I didn't need to learn it once more. Once the bill was taken care of, I started walking with him towards my car. For some reason, his body tensed up the minute we hit the parking lot. I could tell he was keeping his mouth shut about me parking in the back of the lot. The walk back to my car seemed shorter than when I had gone into the building. The two of us stood beside my driver's side door. None of us said anything, we just silently stood there watching each other.

My next decision was made completely on impulse. I took a few steps towards him until I was almost right in front of him. I reached out and hugged him. Again, this was on impulse.

Nick tensed up even more if that was possible. It took him a good minute to realize what was happening. Eventually, he loosened up and began to return the hug. When his arms came to wrap around me, his smell slowly began to surround me. His right hand started to rub up and down my back. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts together.

"Thank you for being concerned today, it meant a lot." I found myself saying those words. Where the hell did those come from? Oh well, it's too late now to take them back.

He simply just responded with "Anytime." I was kind of confused what he meant by that, but I wasn't going to read too deep into that. When I stepped away from him, Nick had released his hold on me. As I turned around to open my car door, Nick spoke up.

"Say hello to everyone at work for me tomorrow, will you?" I took all the self-control I had to not flip him off. Instead, I just smiled and got into my car. As I started the car and pulled away, I noticed in my rear view mirror Nick just standing there. He stood there, watching my car drive off until I exited the parking lot completely.

 _Muahahaha Brick is slowly starting to happen :D I don't know if it's just me, but I'm excited for that. Nick stood in the parking lot, watching her leave. I think we can all agree on what that means ;)_

 _On scheduling basis for updates this week; I will have one up tomorrow night, then probably Wednesday Night. Still don't know if there will be any more out after that! :)_


	11. Chapter 11

After I got home from my evening with Nick, my mind would not stop over analyzing everything that had happened between us. I was perfectly content with the way things had happened, but my brain on the other was not. I kept replaying everything in my head as I asked myself way too many questions on what had happened. Like why did Nick stay and watch my car leave? I knew it was because he was just watching out for a friend, but my brain was like 'You're more than friends and YOU KNOW IT!' It got to the point where I wanted to beat my head against the wall to stop it from thinking about everything. Then I realized that brain damage would be a product of that and I really don't want to happen. So, I stuck with crashing onto my bed, hoping that this was ordering my brain to shut off and fall asleep. Thankfully, within a few minutes, it worked and I was out like a light.

My eyes shot open at almost 7 in the morning. I remember hitting the mattress to go to sleep at close to 2 in the morning. I groaned as I figured out I only got roughly five hours of sleep. As I debated the merits of making breakfast, I phone start chiming from somewhere across the room. I glared as I tried to remember where I had it. It's in my jacket! I practically launched off my bed and ran towards my jacket. My hands kept slipping as I reached into the pocket, trying to grasp the phone. Eventually, I was able to grab ahold of it and I answered it.

"Hello?" I asked out in a rushed breath. I think this is a sign that I need to start working out more.

"You sound like to just got back from running a mile Graves." Warrick mused on the other end.

"Running, this early? Yeah, how about fuck no?"

"Now that we've discussed your exercise habits or lack of, I have news. Brass got me a warrant for Dominic's clothes, since as you remember denim was found in the window of the bathroom. His jeans he was wearing were frayed towards the bottom." Now that I think back about it, I can recall Dominic wearing jeans that looked like they'd seen better days. "Along with the jeans, Brass also managed to secure us the guys prints. I have court today, so it's your time to shine alright?" I grinned as before responding.

"This is going to be the best evidence that has ever been processed." I heard Warrick mutter under his breath, 'You go with that'. Then, I heard an amused tone creep into his voice as he said "Are you going to baseball slide underneath the evidence table, or are you saving that for later today?" I have a feeling I'm never going to live that down from him.

"You know, I haven't decided yet. It may happen, it may not. Who knows." Even that comment had me shaking my head. I swear, every day I get more and more weird.

"Ok then, Looks like Catherine will be your buddy for the day. She's the only other CSI working at the moment." The two of us exchanged goodbyes then hung up. I began to get myself ready for the day. As I got ready, I started getting this knot in my stomach. Stopping for a few seconds in my position, I thought about it. Maybe I'm just starting to catch some sort of bug. Who knows. The knot in my stomach went to the back of my mind as I continued getting ready for the day.

I arrived at work less than 30 minutes later. Getting straight to work, I went to one the labs to (hopefully) get a match with the jean fragment found on the window and Dominic's jeans. On the evidence table, the jeans sat in a paper bag. Before I did anything, I slipped a pair of gloves on. With the gloves on, I opened up the bag. The stench of urine and filth immediately wafted up from inside the bag. Holy shit, did this guy never wash his clothes or what? I've seen sewer rats with better hygiene than him.

I swallowed back the urge to gag and collected the fragment of jeans from evidence to begin a basic comparison. As I took the material out of the bag with my forceps, I took note of the similar color between the two pieces of evidence. Almost all jeans have the same color Bridget, way to get excited over nothing!

Comparing the two took longer than I thought it was going to take, then again I wanted to be as thorough as possible. I even compared the fraying style from the window fragment and the end of his jeans. After carefully examining it, based on basic comparison, the fragment looked as if it came from the pair of jeans worn by Dominic. It took all of my self-control to contain the smile that threatened to break out on my face. As I thought about my possible findings, I realised that I haven't seen Catherine at all today yet.

Thinking nothing of it, I started packing up the evidence to get to someone else for a more detailed comparison, when I heard the sound of heels sliding into the room. Glancing up, I saw Catherine's slightly panicked look on her face.

"Got caught up, Lindsay's bus never showed up to drive her to school so I had to take her. Thought I would make it here in time." I hopefully eased the look on her face with a smile.

"Don't worry about it, I won't mention it to anyone. If anyone asks, I've seen you here all morning."

"Thanks, I owe you one." Catherine let a breath out before speaking again. "Whatcha got there?" I explained to her what I did and what I believed to have found. I ended it with saying I was about to take to someone in trace to do something more detailed but she stopped me.

"I'll take it to them, I said I owed you." She reaches across the table slightly and grabs both the bag with the jeans in it and the bag with the fragment. "Have to say, your casino case may have just been opened a little wider thanks to you."

"I have to say, this day is shaping up to be a pretty good one." My starting chiming in my pocket. I worked the phone out of the tight pocket of my jeans to look at caller ID. It was a number I didn't recognize. I know I shouldn't be answering a phone call from a strange number, but my curiosity gets the better of me a lot of the time, Okay?

"Hello, who is this?" I managed to muster up a somewhat professional tone in my voice. I noticed Catherine had an eyebrow raised and she started to lean against the table. I could tell her curiosity seemed to be getting the better of her too because she looked like she was eager to hear the rest of the conversation.

"You're Bridget Graves right, Eileen and Brad's daughter?" I simply answered yes to her question. Why would a strange woman be calling me about my parents?

"I'm their neighbor, Ms. Casey. Well, your mother didn't want me to say anything to anyone but I would have felt guilty. She herself said 'Bridget will never find out, she's off in Nevada.' I would have hated if no one told you..." I stopped her in her tracks.

"Excuse but what happened?" Even though my parents weren't affectionate towards me as a kid and never told me they loved me, doesn't mean I don't care about them.

"Bridget dear, your father had a bit of an issue a few hours ago. I don't know what happened, but all I saw was your father being taking away on a stretcher with your mother by his side. They took him to the local hospital about a mile down the road. I was watering my flowers outside when all this happened. Mind you, I heard your mother mumbling to herself that 'she didn't want her daughter out here."..." I could tell Ms. Casey wanted to continue but I think my stuttering caused her to stop. What happened to my father, and why the hell would he be taken away on a stretcher. An even bigger question would be why the hell doesn't my mother want me to come to the hospital?! Last time I checked, he's my fucking father.

I wasn't looking at my face, but I could tell that it went completely white. The genetic shaking I got from my dad started to kick into effect. I was having a hard time keeping the phone still in my hand.

"How did you... uh get my number?" I asked the only question that was coming to mind at the moment.

"I did a little snooping on the internet." At this point, Ms. Casey started going in depth of how she managed to track my number down on the internet. I hated to be rude to her, but I hung up and dropped the phone onto the table. With shaky hands, I pushed my hair off of my face. Glancing at Catherine, I saw a concerned look beginning to grow on her face.

"Everything ok Bridget? What happened?" As tears threatened to make their way down my face, I explained to her what happened. I continued on even though my hands were shaking so badly now, it looked like they were going to fall right off.

"Do you want me to talk to Grissom, get you the rest of the day off? I'll be more than happy to cover you.." I held up a shaky hand to stop Catherine.

"No, it's fine. I just need a little time to think." I could feel a few tears roll down my cheek. Not wanting to have her watch me cry, I made my way out of the room and towards the only place I could think of where I could get some peace and quiet.

A few minutes later, I found myself in the locker room where I found out all the CSI's keep their personal belongings. I figured since most of them were out for the day, It would be the perfect place to sit. I sat on the wooden bench in front of the lockers, facing them. Ever since I got in the room, the tears kept flowing at a faster rate. I made no noise as I sat here, with tears streaming down my face.

My father is the hospital for whatever it is, and I have no clue why. Sure, that hurts my father being in there, but that's not what stings the most. It's the fact that my mother didn't want me to know, or didn't want me to even come out there in support of my father. I always thought as a child that my parents loved me because they were supposed to. As I got older, though, I started thinking more and more that I was just something on their checklist of things to accomplish. I can count on one hand the times my parents told me they loved me, and none of them were anytime recent. Of course, with me being me, I kept telling myself the exact opposite. They were my parents, of course they loved me! It was a completely idiotic thing to think, but I couldn't help it as it continuously popped up in my head.

I also thought 'Should I ignore my mother's apparent wishes in this case and go visit my father, or just stay here?' My mind kept coming up with scenarios on what could possibly happen. I knew deep down inside, that it wasn't likely these things would happen. The debate in my head that went on was vicious, and currently, no side was winning.

Just as I had brought my knees up to my chest, and rested my chin against my knees I heard someone step into the locker room. Shit, this is not good. I was in the process of wiping the tears out of my eyes with my sleeve when the person spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt, I forgot my jacket in my... Bridget?" Nick's voice spoke out in a cautious tone. Great, this is certainly what I wanted at the moment. I take it he saw me wiping my eye because he asked "Are you crying?" I didn't respond, as I was too busy trying to wipe my eyes.

Nick walked over towards the bench and sat down on it so he was facing me. The minute I looked at him through the corner of my eye, a furrow in his brow appears as well as a concerned look

"What's going on? What happened?" His voice got quiet as he continued to look me in the eye. I was hoping he would break the eye contact, but he showed no intent of doing so.

"Nothing, I'm fine. It's just allergies." I thought this allergies bit could have been very convincing. Nick didn't buy it though by the look on his face.

"Allergies? Yeah, I'm going to call bullshit on that right now." His left hand came to lightly rest on my upper arm. "I've been told I'm a pretty good listener." I ran my hands through my hair for what seemed like the hundredth time. Drawing a shaky breath, I told him exactly what I told Catherine, word for word. As I was speaking, Nick sat there looking at me as he listened. When I got to the part of how my mother didn't want me there, he turned on the bench so he could slide his arm across my shoulders. Nick brought me closer towards him for whatever reason. The hand that was next to my shoulder slowly started to move back and forth. As odd as this may seem, this is really comforting. He only spoke up when I finished.

"I know this means nothing, coming from me especially seeing as I don't really know you, but it's going to be ok. Bridget, everything will work itself out in the end." An few moments of silence passed before Nick opened his mouth again. "I'm glad you told me what's going on. I imagine it wasn't the easiest thing to do for you in this situation."

Silence hung between us for the next few minutes. The two of us stayed in the same exact position. At one point, I had lightly laid my head against his shoulder. I can't tell you how much it meant that he stayed just to comfort me. I'm sure he had better things to do on his day then this, but it meant alot. Everything Nick said, really made me realize what a great person he is.

Eventually, the tears had finally stopped. My breathing started to return to normal, as well as the shakyness in my hands started to go down. Nick's arm had slid off my shoulders, and I could feel him turn his body towards me on the bench.

"You doing ok now?" His piercing gaze found my eyes once again.

"I'm doing good now, thank to you."

"Good, glad I could help." There was something that changed in his eyes as he looked at me. As I blinked, It felt like he was inching closer towards my face. He's not going to do what I think he's going to do, is he? Sure enough, as I was looking at him he kept inching closer towards me. It was now at the point where our noses were touching. I didn't do anything, I just stayed as still as a statue.

Nick moved closer an inch, and once again the look in his eyes changed. I watched as his pupils dialated before he moved one last time...

 _I feel so evil for stopping there, then again I dont so haha I'm very confused on this! This just means I have to write another chapter sooner, because let's face it we all want to know what happens next ;)_

 _As we all know, this fanfic is eventually going to come to end (not anytime soon though! haha). I've been debating this for awhile, do I want to end it after this story or make a sequel? I want your guys imput on this; should I make a sequel after this or have this be the only one?_


	12. Chapter 12

+Just when I thought the last distance between us would finally be closed, Nick sighed before backing up. What just happened? He was literally so close to kissing me, he was at the point of no return, yet he returned!

Nick must have seen the confused look that had materialized on my face because he opened his mouth.

"I could, but I shouldn't and I won't. You say you're ok, but you're still slightly un-emotionally stable. I don't want to do anything that may make it seem that I'm trying to take advantage of you or that I just got caught up in the moment because that's not what I'm about. Don't get the idea that I don't want to, cause trust me I do. I just think that you deserve more than that." Well, that might have been one of the nicest shutdowns I've ever received. Honestly, I kind of feel touched by what he said.

In order the clear the awkward silence that had developed, I cleared my throat as I stood up from the bench.

"I appreciate that thought process." With a single hand, I brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. "I should get back to work before someone sends in a search team. I'll see you tomorrow." I raised a single hand towards him then made my way out of the way. I made sure my eyes no longer had tears in them as I started making my way back towards the lab. One thing that was passed down from my father to me was the ability to have your moment, then move on from it like it never happened. This is one case that it comes in handy.

When I got back to the lab, I saw Catherine standing in relatively the same position I had left her in minus the paper bag. She didn't ask any questions, all she did was raise an eyebrow. I acknowledged that with a head nod, then cleared my throat.

"Take it you sent the jeans to trace?" I was surprised by the cool, even tone that seemed to be coming out. Wow, I was more collected than I thought I was.

"Yeah, I had one of the guys come by and pick them up. He said could take awhile, due to well... you've seen what state the jeans are in." Both she and I chuckled before Catherine continued.

"You know Warrick's at court, Sara and Grissom are out working a lead together, and Nick's got the day off so it's just you and me. I don't know of anything yo could work no in the mean time, oh wait I do! Follow me." She motions towards me with her hand before walking out into the hall. I rush out to fall in step beside her.

"I'm working this simple B&E, someone came in and stole a few paintings while the guy was asleep. Recovered the paintings a few hours ago. I was hoping I could get some help in printing them." She sent a smile in my direction. Catherine was a really great person, she offered to cover me when I had my... thing happen. I should return the favor.

"Of course, I'll help out, you help I help you."

"Alrighty then, I'll lead the way." Catherine then began leading the way. Eventually, we got to a lab with giant tables. On the tables, 4 of what seemed to be like 24X36 sized paintings laid out on top of them. I quickly put my hair up in a ponytail and put a pair of gloves on, then got to work.

Catherine and I split the paintings in half, she took two of them then I took the others. With my fingerprint powder out and ready to go, I made quick but efficient work of printing the paintings and collecting the prints. I had found a total of 15 prints on the first painting alone. As we worked, Catherine gave me the basics of the case. A guy by the name of Adam Collins was the owner of the paintings and he's a widower who ran into some money after his wife, Amanda had died. Adam now was raising their son, Mickey. Catherine told me that Mickey had quite the record with LVPD; vandalism, shoplifting, the works. She let it slip to me that she suspected that Mickey, due to his record and his anger towards his father, he stole the paintings. Then Catherine chuckled and said something along the lines of "Don't let Grissom know I said that."

It was nice working alongside Catherine, the air was never quite while we worked. Once of us was always talking about something. Our system that we had developed was kind of nice too. Once both of us had finished a painting, we'd switch and make sure the other didn't miss anything. it was like having a fresh set of eyes. The time passed by very quickly and soon enough all 4 paintings had been completely printed, documented, then collected. In total, we found about 40 whole prints and about 10 partials.

I looked over towards my left where Catherine stood and said "Well, doesn't that make time fly by?"

"No kidding." Simultaneously, both of our phones went off. We looked at each other and fought to contain the smiles. We both pulled out our phones to check. I saw that I had two messages, One from Warrick the other from Nick. Warrick's had just informed me on how his day in court went and how _'he couldn't wait til the Rookie had to go on the stand for the first time.'_ I quickly typed a response back of that I wouldn't be crossing my fingers cause my day's coming. I then opened Nick's message and saw that it read _'Are we good? No hard feelings from earlier?'_ I had to think about that for a minute. I wasn't mad about earlier, was I? I didn't think I was so I again quickly typed back the response of _'No need to worry, I don't hold a grudge.'_ Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I looked up at Catherine.

"Well that was from Grissom, he's caught in traffic, but he's on his way back with Sara. Told me that I'm wanted down at PD for some reason. Don't know why Brass wouldn't tell me himself but whatever."

Deciding to be a nice person, I spoke up as I gathered all the prints we had collected. "I'll take care of the prints, don't worry about it. Adam and Mickey's prints are on file for reference right?" Catherine offered me a smile.

"Yes, both of them are. Thanks again, you're turning out to be a pretty good recruit Bridget. Let me know what you get!" She gave me a final wave before leaving me in the lab alone. I made sure all the evidenced was secured and put back in its proper place before I headed off to work on the prints.

I got all the prints identified, and they were a mixture of the father's, Adam, and then the son Mickey. The thing I realised is that the father's prints were on top of the son's prints. I thought that was oddly suspicious, because if the father hung up the paintings when he first got them, wouldn't his be underneath his son's? So, with some help with one of the technicians, we did some digging. Turns out, Adam had an insurance policy on the paintings to the tune of 750,000 dollars. He could only collect on it though if they were stolen. Plus, we also checked a the few records we could have access to without a warrant. Turns out, the cash he'd gotten when his wife died was drying up, fast. I was grinning from ear to ear when I found all this out.

Just as I dialed Catherine's number, I saw her walk into the lab with Grissom and Sara by her side. The minute Catherine saw me, she asked, "How'd the prints go?"

"Fantastic, better than fantastic!" Oh my god, that came out more excited than I thought it would. The three of them, though, picked up on my excitement.

"Whatcha got for me?" Catherine answered back. Grissom and Sara both looked more excited as well. I told them all what I found with all the prints. I looked at them all and I saw Grissom nod his head.

"Alright, you have the evidence. Interpret it, what is it telling you?" Grissom questioned. Both Sara and Catherine had their eyes fixed on me.

"Well, Adam was running low on funds from when his wife died," I paused to show them the printed out records. "He needed the money and quickly. Adam realised that he could get 750,000 dollars by simply having someone 'steal' his paintings. But he had to figure out, who would take the fall? This is where I turned to his son, Mickey's police records. He had an assault charge, can anyone guess who it was against?" I asked the three of them.

"His lovely father?" Catherine said with a knowing look.

"Ding, we have a winner! Those two have obviously not been amicable anytime recently. Adam wanted his son to take the fall, get rid of the kid. Mickey takes the fall, Adam get's 750,000 and with his luck, he might get to keep his paintings. Now, I wasn't able to find any other prints on the paintings, so either the person Adam 'hired' to break into his house had worn gloves to take the paintings or Adam took them from their rightful places himself, stashed them where you found them, then got home and played the 'innocent victim' card." I took a deep breath while I looked at their faces. They seemed like they were processing the information still. Grissom was the first one to acknowledge what I thought.

"You may not have the entire thing, but you have the basics and some important things with evidence to back it up. Catherine, why don't you go back to PD? I'll call Brass, tell him they needed to detain Adam. Hopefully with a little pressure, Adam will crack and tell us the rest of the information we need. Good work Bridget." Grissom gave me the smallest of smiles before walking down one of the halls, with Sara on his heels. Catherine, with a grin on her face, turned towards me.

"Well, you know where I'll be. I'll tell you with any news I have. Hopefully, this case will be wrapped by the end of the day." She left from where I saw her come from a few minutes earlier. Well, now what do I do?

For the next hour or so, I ended helping other with odds and ends they needed to finish. I worked until I heard my phone go off. Once I saw it was Catherine's number, I hurriedly answered the phone.

"How did it go?" I skipped the pleasantries, cause let's face it, I'm pumped for what happened.

"We got him, Bridget." I could tell Catherine was on the other end smiling. I now had the biggest smile on my face as well. "Adam fessed up, said he stashed the paintings himself. Wouldn't tell us what he needed the cash for, but he admitted to everything, even to framing his son or in his words 'That bastard of a child.'" I couldn't stop smiling even if I wanted to at this point.

"That's amazing!"

"Brass is getting the court date expedited to tomorrow afternoon. And guess who's the prosecution's main witness?"

"Me?" I asked with a shocked tone in my voice.

"Yep, the court's starting at noon sharp. You'll be fine, all you have to do is answer the questions they ask you. With the evidence and the digging you did, we've got the guy nailed to the wall." Catherine rushed out a goodbye, then hung up the phone. You know, when I texted Warrick earlier about not crossing my fingers for the court? I didn't think it would happen the next fucking day! Then again, I'm kind of pumped for the whole thing. it's my first time getting up in front of the stand. I just keeping thinking how I was a major part in helping catch this guy.

 _Nick didn't kiss Bridget! I was actually debating on whether he kisses her or not, but then I figured it lead to more interesting plot points if he didn't :D Plus, it's more of the Texas gentlemen Nick we want to see ;)_

 _Chapter wise, I won't have another one out until probably Friday night or Saturday due to Christmas being this week! Ahhhh I'm so excited haha!_


	13. Chapter 13

It was a little while later when I had gotten a message from Grissom, telling me just to head on home and get some rest before my court date the next day. A smile spread across my face as I was eager to get home and relax before my court date tomorrow. I shot back a quick reply of thank you, then wasted no time as I gathered up my thing and started heading out towards my car. Just as the engine started up, my phone started chiming in the passenger seat of the car. Turning off the car, I answered the phone without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I asked the person on the other end as I tossed my keys into the center console.

"I'm just going to be forward here since we both know the situation between us." I heard Nick on the other end, or what I thought sounded like him. It was quite loud on his end, to the point of where I was on the verge of pulling the phone away from my ear. Where the hell is he that it could be THAT loud? Just as I opened my mouth to ask what was going on in the background, everything stopped. Well, I guess that takes care of that problem.

"Alright, shoot."

"I was wonderin' if you'd be interested in seeing me tonight after you got off." I'm wondering if he let the accent slide in on purpose, thinking it would make me want to say yes even more. Well, he was right on that one. Ok, southern accents get to me very easily, that such a crime? I knew I couldn't though because I didn't want to take any chance of staying out later than I should.

"I'd love to..."

"I sense a but coming..." I couldn't tell if the tone in Nick's voice slightly deflated or not. Either way, I wasn't going to find out.

"But, I have to head in early tonight. Need a full night's sleep." I heard Nick laugh on the other end. I was not expecting that one.

"You know, If you're going to come up with an excuse to not see me tonight, I thought you would have been a little more plausible with it Bridget." Now I know why he was laughing. As I think about it, what I said does sound like a really lame excuse.

"I'm serious Nick," I told him as a smile slow slipped onto my face. "I have to be in court tomorrow. I'm actually on my way home to get some much-needed sleep. That's why I just want to stay in tonight." I shut my mouth before I continued saying anything. I had a feeling I was telling him more than he needed or wanted to know.

"Oh, the rookie's got her first appearance in court? That should be interesting."

"Maybe there's another girl you can call up to take my place? I'm sure there's tons of woman out there fighting for the chance to spend an evening with the charming Nick Stokes." I clamped my mouth shut after I said that. Oh shit, I think I may have called him a man whore. Well, let's just hope he glides over that fact.

"So, you think I'm charming huh?" His voice got suddenly deeper. It took all the willpower I had to get my mind out of the train of thought it was currently about to go down.

"You know what I mean. Remember what happened the last time I was out with you at night?" A slight chuckle came from Nick's end as he recalled the events of that evening.

"The part where you probably didn't get home til early in the morning or where you hugged me in the parking lot?" Not being able to come up with a snappy comeback, I kept my mouth closed. I thought he would have forgotten about that honestly. Not I wanted him to or that I regretted what I did, I just didn't think it would be that significant of a thing for him to remember something like that. "Anyways, I should let you go then. Don't want you to miss out on that beauty sleep for court tomorrow, even though you don't need it. I'll talk to you tomorrow then." Nick hung up rather suddenly. With the phone still in my hand, I stared at it. Did he just acknowledge that I was beautiful? Who am I kidding, that sounds over fetched even for me.

Not dwelling on it any further, I set the phone in the center console and picked up my keys. I got out of the parking lot as soon as I could excited to get home.

The night of sleep I was looking forward to? Yeah, that never happened. I spent a good portion of the night, tossing and turning. My body was restless with anxiousness due to it being my first time on the stand, as CSI Bridget Graves. I mean sure, I doubt it would be, but my mind kept coming up with various scenarios on what would happen. I wouldn't remember any of the evidence, I'd get tongue-tied on the stand and wouldn't be able to speak, among other scenarios. At around 7:00 am, I gave up any more hope of trying to sleep. I was able to put a cup of coffee and two pieces of toast in my stomach before the butterflies kicked in.

In order to take my mind off of everything, I started getting ready. I spent more time than usual in the shower, letting the warm water work its way over my muscles. It did wonders for relieving the tension built up in my shoulders, but nothing for the butterflies. After I got out of the shower, I got dressed. I put on the only professional look I had; a gray pair of dress pants, a white blouse, then a gray pants suit jacket. For the first time in awhile, I put my hair up into a low bun. I debated awhile before deciding I would just wear my black flats because let's face it, the minute I wear heels I'm going to be falling on my face.

I was ready by 9:00 am, so I had to busy myself for the next two hours because I wanted to be at the courthouse early cause I didn't even want to slightly risk the chance of being late. For the first little while, I tried watching TV. It usually passes the time, but I just couldn't get sucked into the nonsense reality show like I could most of the time. I found some dime-store novel sitting on my coffee table, so I picked that up and began reading it. Thankfully, it worked and I eventually got sucked into the book enough to the point of where time passed very quickly. When I glanced at the clock next, I saw it was 10:59. Did I time that perfectly or what? Putting the book down, I grabbed my keys and walked out the door.

My car pulled into the courthouse parking lot at 11:30. I got out of my car, then just stood by the car door. I tried taking a deep breath in order to calm the butterflies that had once again risen in my stomach. As I started to make my way towards the courthouse doors, a familiar black Tahoe pulls into the lot. I thought it was one of the ones from the lab then quickly dismissed that idea. Why would they come? It's not like they have to be here. I turned on my heels away from the car, but a sound from the Tahoe caught my attention. I turned back around, and to my surprise, I saw Catherine and Warrick getting out of the vehicle.

"Whatcha guys doing here?" I called out to them as I took in Warrick's suit and tie, and Catherine's black pants suit.

"Did you think we'd miss the chance to see how the Rookie does in court for the first time?" Warrick asked as he locked the car while the two of them walked towards me. "Besides, it's Catherine's case as well so she wanted to see how it turned out." Once they got up to me, Catherine finally spoke up.

"This is certainly a different look on you Bridget, it definitely suits you." She smiled, then looked like she was trying not to laugh. I was confused until I heard the hidden pun in there. The three of us began walking up to the courthouse, making small talk along the way. Catherine was in the midst of telling me a story involving Lindsay when we finally stepped into the lobby of the courthouse. When I looked up, it was fairly empty. Catherine's heels clicked against the flooring as we started walking through. As I glanced around, my eyes caught the attention of a suit-clad man sitting on a bench by the desk situated in front of us. When I got a closer look at the man, I realized it was Nick sitting here. Now, why is he here? I'm kind of shocked at him being here to be honest.

When Catherine, Warrick, and I had stepped up towards the desk, we had finally caught the attention of Nick. As he glanced up, He offered us a smile.

"Nicky, didn't expect you to be here. Isn't it your day off again?" Catherine asked him. Even though I wasn't looking at her, I could tell an eyebrow was raised.

"What else was I going to do? You can only watch so much Discovery Channel. Besides, I figured Bridget could use all the.. friendly support she could get." Nick's eyes locked with mine, and he gave me the slightest smirk. There was some sort of hidden meaning behind his eyes. Which wouldn't surprise me, because of what's happened between us the past couple of days.

After we got the information of where our case was scheduled, we began making our way towards there. Warrick and Catherine started walking ahead of Nick and I. When he made his way passed us, Warrick whispered, "Told ya so". You know, now that I think about it, Warrick is right. Still, it took everything I had to not stick my tongue out at him. Instead, I mumbled 'Know it all' under my breath.

It didn't take long for the silence between us to become awkward. The only sound was the slightly squeak of our shoes hitting the floor. Eventually, Nick cleared his throat.

"How are you feeling?" For a minute, I was confused on what he meant by that. Then, by the process of elimination, I figured out he meant with the court date.

"Butterflies in my stomach, but I figured that would happen." I didn't have to tell Nick what was causing the butterflies because he assumed that part.

"You'll be fine. To me, the whole thing is really blown out of proportion. You get up there, both sides ask you some questions, then your part is done and over with." I wasn't sure if Nick was saying this because he actually thought this, or he was just saying this to make me feel better. Whichever way you look at it, It still is a nice thing to do.

"So what your saying is, it's highly unlikely for me to bomb this, but it's still possible?" I heard a snicker come Nick's direction as the two of us arrived at the room it was being held in. The two of us still stood side by side, but I had the feeling Nick has his eyes solely focused on me. I glanced out of the corner of my eye, and my suspicions were confirmed.

"Bridget, I have faith in you ok? You'll do just fine. If you start getting panicky, just find the three of us out in the crowd there." He stood there for a moment or so as if he were debating something in his head. Eventually, he sighed. "I'll see you in there." Very quickly, he had bent down and planted his lips against my cheek. He stayed like that for a second, before pulling away and walking into the courtroom. I kid you not, I stood there in the middle of the hall with my mouth hanging open. What was that? Nick did not just kiss my cheek, did he? Me being the person I am, I tried rationalizing why he did that. I could only come to the conclusion that Nick is interested in me, there's no other way to explain.

After I managed to close my mouth, I made my way into the courtroom. As I walked to where I was supposed to be, I was trying to hide the blush that had materialized on my face. The spot where Nick's lips had connected with my cheek was still very warm. Who am I kidding, it's probably going to stay like that for awhile.

It didn't take long after I sat down for the court to begin. We did the whole standing up thing as the judge walked in. After we passed all that, the case started being discussed. Both the prosecution and defense had introduced what their stance was. I held in the urge to snicker as Adam's lawyer stated that 'this whole thing was a case of misunderstanding. Adam didn't do it, his son Mickey did.' They announced there were only two witnesses that would be called, Mickey and then me.

When Mickey was called up to the stand, it was obvious that he would rather be in other places. The defense was the first to speak, asking the basic questions about his police record and his relationship with his father. Because he was sworn to an oath, Mickey agreed that him and his father didn't have a good relationship. Once of the last things Mickey had said before he had gotten off the stand was 'Yes, my record shows I've made some mistakes. Yes, I don't have a good relationship in the past. I may have stolen in the past, but I didn't steal these paintings.'

He had gotten off the stand, then the prosecution spoke to the judge. "Your honor, we would like to call CSI Bridget Graves to the stand." Taking that as my cue, I stood up and began walking up to the stand. I have to admit, it was nerve-wracking being the only thing that's making noise in the room. I had taken the stand and was sworn in. As I sat down, I cast a glance towards Warrick, Catherine, and Nick. They all gave reassuring looks. I quickly turned my eyes on the prosecution team.

"Ms. Graves, you found both Adam and Mickey's fingerprints on the painting, correct?"

"Yes, I did." Prosecution nodded their head before continuing.

"Now it's my understanding that there was evidence within the fingerprints that you found. Would you care to explain for the court what it was that you found." Taking a deep breath, I spoke.

"When I had taken a closer look at the fingerprints, I took into account of how the prints were positioned on the frame. The defendant's prints were on top of his son's prints that were left on the frame. If his son had stolen the paintings, his would be covering his fathers." I snuck a look towards the three of them, gauging their reaction. They nodded their heads as if to explain that I had done a good job.

They had asked me the basic questions about Adam's records that I had dug into, and I answered them. When the prosecution said, "I pass the witness your honor" I almost did a sigh of relief. Then I realized that the defense now gets to have their way with me.

"Would the defense like to cross-examine the witness." Adam's lawyer, a middle-aged man with thinning hair, stood up.

"Yes, your honor." The defense then made his way up to the stand. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie before speaking up.

"This is your first job as a CSI correct?"

"Yes, it is." I was wondering what they had to do with anything.

"This is also one of the first cases you have worked on right?"

"Yes."

"Are you confident in your abilities as a CSI, even though you've only been one for what two months?" The defense looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"I was not the only CSI working this case. I worked on this case with CSI Catherine Willows, a co-worker of mine. Yes, I am confident in my abilities as my CSI." The defense looked shocked slightly by my answer, but only for a short moment. He quickly recovered, and spat out another question at me.

"We did a little research on you. I would like to inform the court that all the information we had obtained on Ms. Graves was done through public databases." The defense told the judge and the court as if he was trying to cover his ass. " here is from Denver Colorado. Her two parents still live out there."

The prosecution called out "Objection your honor! How does this information pertain to the case?"

"Overruled, but get to the point." The judge told the Adam's attorney.

"Oh, I'm getting to the point, your honor. See, we found out that the day Ms. Graves's father had been admitted to the hospital, and that she was notified by a neighbor." Ok, how the hell did they know this? What kind of public database could that even be on? "Were you upset when you were notified of what happened with your father?"

I cleared my throat for a moment. "Of course, I was, he's my father."

"Here's what I think. By your own admission, you were upset when you found out your father had been hospitalized. I believe that you, overwhelmed with emotions, went back to work before you were ready. You jumped to conclusions on the case because you weren't thinking clearly. You wanted to put this to an end, so you could get out of work! You were willing to put an innocent man behind bars because of your selfish needs!"

"Objection your honor! The defense is out of reach with the questioning!" The prosecution raised their voice, to the point of where the judge had banged his gavel.

"Order! Sustained. Defense, You're out of line." He turns towards the jury. "The defense attorneys previous statement is to be disregarded."

"We're done with the witness your honor." The defense had sat back down. I sat there at the stand, keeping my anger down. Thank god I'm not saying this out loud, but they were way out of fucking line. They have NO right to go ahead and make assumptions such as that! Then they have the fucking nerve to go ahead and call me selfish.

"If both sides are done with the witness, then the court is on recess till 2:00 pm for the jury will now deliberate in the mean time. If a decision is not made before that point, then the court will be adjourned until tomorrow afternoon." The judge banged his gavel as he said "You may be dismissed." Everyone started to move. I glanced at the rest of the CSI's and they all had open-mouthed expressions, Nick, especially. He even had a concerned look in his eyes. I knew that this recess would be interesting.

 _Sorry about not updating until now, the time around the holidays has always been a crazy time! But lot's of interesting things happened in this chapter; Nick kissed Bridget's cheek ;), and court was definitely... something haha. I wanted to have the entire court date in one chapter, but's it's around 11:30 here and I'm getting tired so :D I will definitely be updating this tomorrow night!_

 _Also, I have decided to make a sequel after this. Don't know what to call it, or what will happen in it but there is going to be one! Yay for both of us!_


	14. Chapter 14

The shaking in my hands was uncontrollable as I made my way off the stand. I wasn't sure if it was due to the anger pumping through my veins, or the shock that Adam's attorney actually had the nerve say that I would put an innocent man behind bars because of my selfish needs! See, I knew that the evidence proved that Adam had committed insurance fraud, and then tried to frame his son! His own admission to Brass and Catherine proves that! I guess I never saw that Defense Attorney's are willing to drag other people's names and reputation through the mud just to make sure that their guilty client get's set free.

When I stepped out of the courtroom, I couldn't help but start swearing under my breath. Let's face it, I think I have the right to get a little bit angry here! I found the nearest bench next to the courtroom and sat down on it, still muttering under my breath. I'd run my hands through my hair, but it was up in a bun. Instead of doing that, I just began to wring my hands together. As I was in the middle of having my moment, I heard footsteps approaching the bench. Glancing up for a quick second, I saw Catherine and Warrick making their way over here.

"We tried finding you as soon as we could, what the hell happened in there?" Catherine asked as she approached the bench. You know, her guess is as good as mine.

"Who knows? How the hell can they say that I mean what kind of a human are you to even drag someone through the mud like that?! I know the judge dismissed what he said and said it was to not be taken into account but you know damn well it's still going to be in their minds! Now the jury possibly thinks I don't have the normal fucking decency of a human!" I was talking with my hands as I answered back to Catherine. I ramble when I get extremely angry, and that's what just happened. This is why I try not to get angry cause I ramble, then I tend to bite people's heads off and it's not a pretty sight.

"All defense attorneys do that, they're getting paid exorbitant amounts of money to lie and say their clients innocent, Adam's attorney's no different. We all know that Adam's guilty and I'm sure the jury knows that too." Warrick reassured me as he put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Look, I'm going to give Grissom a call. Update him on what happened." I heard the sound of Catherine's heels clicking as she began walking away. Warrick removed his hand, before speaking up.

"The hardest part's over with. You did your part, now we just wait and see what the jury says." I heard another pair of footsteps making their way towards the bench. It wasn't Catherine's heels, so who was it?

"Sorry I disappeared, figured you could use this." Nick's voice spoke up. I looked up and saw the coffee cup that he was holding in his hand. With my eyes glued back towards the ground, I reached a hand up. The cup was set into my hand, then I brought it back down. I immediately raised the cup towards my lips and took a sip. The warm drink slowly began to slowly make its way through my body.

"Let's give the Rookie some space, Bridget looks like she could use it." Warrick spoke up, then walked away a few steps. Then, it sounded as if he turned on his heels back towards us. "You coming, Nick?"

"I'll catch up with you Warrick, I have to talk to her about a few things." I wasn't sure what the look on Warrick's face was, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with confusion and maybe a raised eyebrow. His heels turned back around, then he started walking away. Still not looking up, I felt the weight of the bench shift as Nick sat down on it. Finally looking up from the ground, I glanced out of the corner of my eye at him.

"Well, that was interesting." I found myself letting out a slight chuckle.

"It's definitely something to talk about later." We sat there, side by side for a while, saying nothing to each other. I don't know where he was looking but I was looking anywhere but in his direction. I don't know what it was, but ever since he kissed me on the cheek, I've been anxious about being in the same room with him. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't being shy about what he felt towards me, or the fact that I still hadn't decided if I felt the same or not. My emotions towards Nick were still in limbo, and it wasn't helping that he kept being so damn sweet.

It was about 10 minutes before there was a single sound between the two of us. When I had let out a sigh, I guess that made Nick want to speak up.

"Defense was pretty brutal on you in there. Just remember that you know the truth, and you have proof to back it up." Without saying anything else, Nick stood up from the bench and began walking away. II was able to hear that he stopped walking, but didn't move.

"Bridget?" I looked up, with my hands still curled around the coffee cup.

"Yeah?"

"I saw the blush on your face after I kissed your cheek. It was nice to know my action was... well received." He threw a quick wink at me before walking in the direction Warrick headed off in. I couldn't help but blush again at what he said. God damn it Nick stop being so damn sweet! I don't really want him to, or do I? See, this is what he does? He confuses me so much that I don't even know how I feel about this situation anymore!

I waited the rest of the recess out by myself, slowly ingesting the cup of coffee. The time allowed me to calm my nerves to the best of my ability and think about a few things. When the clock turned 1:50, I headed back into the room. When I found my way back to my original seat, I saw that the three of them had already made their way back to their seats. I turned my eye in their general direction, but they didn't notice. Nick, Catherine, and Warrick all looked as if they were engaged in some sorted of an important discussion. Their heads were all pointed towards each other, with their bodies doing the same.

It wasn't long before both the judge and the jury entered the court. After we repeated the whole beginning, the judge had turned towards the jury. "Have you reached a verdict?" One member of the jury, an elderly African American woman had stood up from her seat.

"Yes your honor, we have." Here's the moment of truth, did they convict Adam despite what the defense had presented? The jury member pulled a small piece of paper out of her shirt pocket. As she unfolded it carefully, she cleared her throat. "In the case of Adam Prescott versus the State of Nevada, we the jury find the defendant guilty of Insurance Fraud and falsifying a police report." There was the collective sound the gasps from the defense, but most of the people in the room did a silent 'thank you' pray to god. Wow, I didn't think that many people hated Adam. I know myself I was grinning from ear to ear. MY FIRST CONVICTION AS A CSI! In my head, I was screaming but since I was still in court I kept it down to the giant smile on my face. Once the judge dismissed the court, I all but jumped out of my seat and high-tailed it out of there.

Once I got outside the room, I was instantly greeted by Warrick and Nick. I wonder where Catherine. When I approached the two, Warrick had answered my suspicions as if he could read my mind.

"Catherine got called away by Lindsay's babysitter after the verdict, told me to give you her congrats." Warrick had reached out and enveloped me into a hug. "Looks like we got the guy. All thanks to you. I'm sure Catherine's with me when I say this but you solved this case." Warrick released me, but the smile didn't drop off his face.

"Thank you, Warrick. I feel really good right now, accomplished even."

"Then you've done your job." Warrick looked between Nick and me several times. Eventually, a smirk slowly replaced the smile on his face. "I'm just going to leave the two of you alone. Have fun." Warrick and Nick shared some sort of look before he walked away. After he walked off, Nick finally talked.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say you're doing a fantastic job." With one single motion, Nick's arm reached out and grabbed ahold of my arm. He lightly pulled me towards him. Both of his arms wrapped around me to give me a meaningful hug. It didn't take long for me to return the hug. It only lasted for a few seconds but when he pulled away, he kept me directly in front of him.

"Listen... are you emotionally stable?" Nick asked me in a low voice. I looked at him like he had three heads. Ok, forgive me if I'm forgetting something, but why the hell is he asking if I'm emotionally stable? Is this some kind of joke?

"Uhh. I guess? If you mean that I'm not as angry as I was early then yes I'm fine. Is this some sort of tri-" I wasn't allowed to finish my thoughts because Nick had leaned down, and planted his lips against mine. Ohh, so that's why he was asking if I was emotionally stable! It makes a lot more sense now. Wait, what the hell am I doing? Nick is in the process of kissing me and I'm rationalizing how the hell it happened! Not going to lie, it's not half bad.

Just as quick as it began, did it end. He pulled away but kept his arms held loosely around me. "I want to see you tonight if that's alright." Nick took away his arms away and began walking backward towards the entrance of the courthouse. "Expect a call from me later." With one last heart melting smile, He turned on his heels and walked off. Ok, I was utterly speechless. I think the whole issue with Nick has been decided. He's DEFINETLY interested.

 _BRICK OFFICALY HAPPENED! AHHH I'M SO EXCITED, MORE THAN I SHOULD BE lol I hope you guys are too! Figured I'd finally allow it ;) Should have another update out by Wednesday night at the latest :)_

 _Also, I need some help with Nicknames! I want one or two 'Nick'names that he can call Bridget! Any help would be awesome! :D_


	15. Chapter 15

There was a slight spring in my step as I made my way out of the courthouse. How could there not be? My first criminal was put behind bars largely because of me, and I may have new prospects for a developing relationship. I'd go out on a limb here and say things are shaping up for me here.

As I walked out towards my car, my phone chimed in my pocket. Not bothering to erase the smile off my face, I answered the phone.

"Yep?" I'm pretty sure whoever I was on the phone with could tell that I was in a happy mood.

"Well, someone's in a good mood, even more so for someone who just won their first court case. Wonder what caused that..." There was an underlying tone in Warrick's voice that he knew what happened. I vowed to myself I wouldn't say anything unless he asked. "Anyways, just got word from Brass. He wants Nick, You, and I to meet him at the PD. Said he had some important info on Dominic that he needed to share with us ASAP."

"Any idea on what it's about?"

"No clue, I imagine it's something major pertaining to the case if we need to know this now. Just meet us there as soon as you can." Without another word, Warrick hung up. Now I'm curious, what is this all about? What, did Dominic's lawyer bail him out or something? Shaking my head, I got into my car and began my journey to the PD. My gut's telling me it's as big of a deal as their making it.

When I had made it to the PD, I wasted no time getting out of the car. While walking towards the front doors, I had taken off the jacket and taken my hair out of the bun. Hey, I'm out of court now, I have the right to be semi-lazy with my appearance right now. I wasn't even five steps into the building when I was cut off by Brass, who I'd take it had been waiting there for me.

"Heard about your day in court, nice work. Now, Nick and Warrick are already here. Follow me." Even though I'd only had met Brass a handful of times since when I first saw him, he seemed different. Brass always seemed as an upfront, no nonsense kind of guy who got straight to the point. He seemed to be like that, but ten times as worse.

There was little to none words exchanged to us as he leads me to wherever everyone else was. Shortly, we'd arrived in what I assumed to be his office. Different plaques and awards of sorts lined the walls. Nick was leaning up against the wall while Warrick sat in a chair in front of his desk that seemed to be two sizes too small. We all exchanged looks before I took the other seat that was next to Warrick. The minute I sat down and got comfortable, Brass wasted no time as he started talking.

"Dominic Vaquez has been bailed out of jail by his lawyer."

"Bailed out? Wasn't only being held for 72 hours?" Nick asked Brass.

"Yes, but while in here he picked a fight with a few guards. One of them wanted charges pressed against the guy for battery, so we did. Anyways, after he bailed him out I had my guys check a few things. The way this guy was, there was no way he'd only been charged once like his records said. We checked into anything about him in his hometown down in Mexico."

"What did you find?" Warrick questioned as he sat up in the seat as much as he could.

"Under the name Dominic Vaquez, nothing. But under the name Jesus Rivera, that's a different story."

"What? The guy change his name or something?" I opened my mouth to ask because I'm pretty sure everyone else was thinking the same thing.

"Don't quite know that. What we do know is Jesus Rivera, Dominic Vaquez, or whatever the hell you want to call him is bad news. Multiple gun trafficking and smuggling offenses, a few charges for distribution of crack cocaine, but get this, all charges he was found 'not guilty due to insufficient evidence'."

"Meaning?"

"In each case, all the people testifying against him had 'disappeared' before the court dates. We think it's because there was a gang that Jesus was affiliated with back in Mexico. Wasn't too big to catch attention by local authorities, but not to small to the point of where they're not known." Brass let out a sigh as he gave all of us hard looks. "Look, I brought you in here to give you guys a heads up. With this guy on a loose, and from what I understand a suspect in your case, I'd tread lightly. There's no telling what this guy is capable of." Well, it looks like my gut feeling was wrong. It's bigger than we thought it was. To be honest, though, I'm not incredibly worried. I'm confident that we're going to do what's right, and everybody will be fine.

Shortly after that, we all exchanged goodbyes and walked out of Brass' office. Warrick and Nick were engaged in a conversation about some football game when I told them I was going to head off.

"See ya around Rook. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Warrick called out to. Nick looked like he wanted to say something, but he never opened his mouth.

"Man, where's the fun in that?" Without waiting to see their reaction, I turned on my heels and walked out the door. I was excited to get home, and just relax for the evening after the day in court. I think I could reward myself that much.

My evening at home has been pretty successful if I don't say so myself. The minute I got home, I took a relaxing hot shower. It did wonders for the muscles in my back. Plus, it gave me time to think about what's happened today. A good portion of it was about the whole situation with Nick. It was obvious that he was interested, but the question is was I? I'd always been unsure about how I felt towards him. He has been a really good friend since I've gotten here, but there's something more. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for him as well, but I'd been asking myself how deep they are. When he kissed me, there was something inside me that just lit up. I guess a simple way of explaining it would be that I didn't want it to end.

I'd gotten out of the shower when I realized it was like I was my own therapist, which for some reason creeped me out. With my hair put up in a sloppy ponytail, I slipped into a comfortable pair of gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. In the next 30 minutes or so, I'd ordered a small cheese pizza with spinach and mushrooms from a place nearby, and found the Lifetime channel. I know how stereotypical it is, a single woman watching lifetime movies, but they actually have very good murder mystery movies. My pizza had just arrived when a movie called _Reviving Ophelia_ had just started. As I put a slice on my paper plate to take to the couch, my mind drifted towards Nick again as I looked at the clock. It was just after 7:00 pm. Nick did say that he wanted to see me tonight. Maybe that was just said in the heat of the moment.

My doorbell rang throughout my place. Setting my pizza down on the coffee table, I padded over towards the front door. I didn't both to look through the peep-hole as I just swung the door open. Standing there was Nick, and he looked freshly showered like me.

"Hey, was just thinking about you." I clamped my mouth shut. Damn it, I didn't want to say that! I really need to work on my habit of blurting things out.

A slow smirk slid its way up onto Nick's face. Even he couldn't hide the look he got in his eyes. "Really now? I hope they were all about earlier." I fought the smile that threatened it's way onto my face.

"Did you come here just to weasel your way into my home?"

"No, I came to see what you were doing? It's obvious your not dressed for a night on the town." His eyes slowly began scanning over my entire body and take in my appearance. "I wouldn't mind if you did wear that out, though.."

"It's my casual look. Just having a simple dinner in, and a movie." Nick asked what movie and what I was eating, so I told him. The minute I finished, a teasing look appeared in his eyes.

"Spinach and Mushrooms, on a pizza? Are you human? Lifetime too? Hate to tell ya Bridge, but that sounds like a really bad night."

"First you insult my pizza, then me watching Lifetime? Guess I stop talking to you, save you the embarrassment." I began to shut the door but he slid his foot into the doorway. "You can't get rid of me that easily. Can I come in? Give you some company for the evening, besides maybe me being here will make this evening a lot more exciting." I debated it in my head for awhile before answering.

"Alright, you can come in. If I hear one more insulting word about my food, though, I won't hesitate to kick your ass." All I got was a laugh from Nick as he entered.

"Please, I could fend you off with one hand tied behind my back," I said nothing else I walked back over towards the couch to sit down and eat. I can't decide if letting him in was worth it or not.

 _Yes, Nick called Bridget 'bridge' let it go ok? :D Anyways, I'd figured that be a cute little nickname from him!_

 _Another chapter will most likely be up tomorrow night!_


	16. Chapter 16

I sat on the couch with my pizza in hand. Amidst the loud volume of the movie, I could still here Nick moving about me in the background. Taking a bite of the pizza, I finally heard Nick start making his way over to the couch. When he finally made his way over, he set his plate along with two bottles of water on the coffee table. Nick sat down on the couch, but as close to me as possible without physically touching me. Ok, it's official, Nick's doing this just to mess with me now.

Clearing my throat, I adjusted myself on the couch before speaking. "Could you sit any closer to me?"

"Is someone afraid I'll bite? Trust me, I won't unless you want me to." All I gave him in response was a knowing look. The two of us sat in there in silence for the next thirty minutes or so, with my eyes on the TV and his eyes god know where. I'm just going to take a shot in the dark and say they were pointed in my direction, but let's not get cocky here. Let's be honest, him sitting this close to me is absolutely nerve-wracking. I could hear the slight sound of his breathing as we sat side by side. I also began to notice him slowly making himself comfortable. One of his long legs rested against the bottom of the coffee table while the other leg nonchalantly laid across the over one. In order to try and put some distance between us so I can think straight, I stood up from the couch.

"And to think I thought you loved being around me." Rolling my eyes, I continued my walk to the kitchen, yawning as I set my plate in the sink.

"Wow, sensitive and has an ego."

"Once again, I'm not sensitive. You're just use to guys being complete asshole's around you." I didn't say anything in response as I made my way back to my original spot on the couch. As I sat down, I heard my phone go off. I glanced around the room, not being able to place the source of where it was coming from. My eyes landed on the table next to Nick's side of the couch. Not thinking twice about it, I muttered an "Excuse me" before I stretched out across him to grab my phone. Once I actually had it in my hand, I stayed there to read the very short message from Grissom, _heard about your day in court, nice work. Take tomorrow off, but you're on call._ I didn't think twice before shooting a thank you to him and placing the phone back on the side table.

"Um, any particular reason why you couldn't just walk around?" He asked as a smirk slowly slid it's way onto his face. He wasn't the only one that could poke a little fun huh?

"What can I say, this was quicker. Besides, it's quite comfortable here... almost soft like." If there was one thing I picked up from guys, it was the fact that they hated it when you poked fun about their body. Especially if they have just a smidge of pride in it. I heard a slight intake of breath come from him and It took all my willpower to laugh. It took a minute or so to adjust myself across Nick before I was comfortable. I wasn't lying about that part, I am quite comfortable. Eventually, I settled into the position of my head resting against the arm of the couch while the rest of me was stretched out across him.

The next hour or so was spent in complete and utter silence. For once, I think Nick had his eyes trained onto the screen. Mine were, but my mind was wondering. It was thinking about everything but what was on the screen. I'm going to be honest, I wasn't paying attention to half of the movie. I can't help it my mind can't settle the hell down. The one thing I did take into account is that about halfway through the movie, Nick started absentmindedly running a hand through my hair softly. I don't even think he knew he was doing it. The gesture was welcomed, all right?

There was one thing that my mind had settled on during my spacing off period, and that was I _was_ interested in Nick. He is a great guy, but it helps that his physical attributes aren't too bad.

The movie had been over for 10 minutes or so when my eyes started to drift closed. I lifted my head to check the clock and found that I don't have the energy to do so. Apparently I was more wiped than I thought I was.

"I should get going, let you get some sleep. Besides, I have to work tomorrow night." He stopped running a hand through my hair, only to place both his hands on my arms in an effort to move me. I forgot to mention, once I start getting tired and I'm down, I will not be moving anytime soon. Nick must have figured this out cause after a moment or so of moving me around, he finally gave up and placed his hands back down on the couch.

"Take it you're not moving anytime soon?"

"Mhmm," I mumbled as I adjusted myself ever so slightly.

"Which means I'm not going anywhere anytime soon?"

"Mhmm" All I heard was a chuckle come from above me as Nick's hand found it's way into my hair again. As it sifted through my hair, his other hand cautiously hovered over my right hip, as if he wanted to place it there but wasn't sure how I'd react. Eventually, he just took the plunge and settled it against my hip.

"Goodnight Bridget." Was the last thing I heard come from Nick before I fell asleep.

 _I know this chapter's really short lol don't hate me :D Been doing a lot of things, which includes working on the a brand new crossover Bridget Over Troubled Waters written with MotherHeninFlorida, who is an amazing writer!_

 _I promise that the next chapter will make up for the length of this one lol_


End file.
